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'I  All  Pbeacbing  fob  th£  Age  in  which  I  Lite." 


BILLY    SUNDAY 

THE   MAN  AND   HIS   MESSAGE 


WITH  HIS  OWN  WORDS 
WHICH  HAVE  WON 
THOUSANDS  FOR  CHRIST 


BY 

WILLIAM  T.  ELLIS,  LL.D. 

AUTHOR  OF  "MEN  AND  MISSIONS" 


Antt|0rtzrb  Ebltlnn 


Authorized  by   Mr.  Sunday 

This  work  contains  the  heart  of 
Mr.  Sunday's  gospel  message 
arranged  by  subjects,  and  is 
published  by  special  agreement 
with  him  for  the  use  of  copy- 
right material  and  photographs, 
which  could  be  used  only  by 
his  permission. 


CoFniiGHT,  1914,  by 
L.  T.  MYERS 


CAUTION 
The  entire  contents  of  this  book  are 
protected  by  the  stringent  new  copyright 
law,  and  all  persons  are  warned  not  to 
attempt  to  reproduce  the  text,  in  whole  or 
in  part,  or  any  of  the  illustrations. 


Reverend  William  Ashley  Sunday,  D.D. 


My  friend.  Dr.  William  T.  Ellis,  the 
author  of  this  book,  knows  me  and  my  work 
well. 

His  estimate  of  me,  and  his  interpre- 
tation of  my  work,  are,  of  course,  en- 
tirely his  own. 

The  chapters  contributed  by  me  are 
substantially  the  message  I  have  spoken 
wherever  I  have  preached. 


^;i4/fuU^. 


A  WORD  FROM  THE  AUTHOR 

Because  he  is  the  most  conspicuous  Christian  leader  in 
America  today;  because  he  has  done  an  entirely  unique 
and  far-reaching  work  of  evangelism;  and  because  his  words 
have  a  message  for  all  men,  I  have  written,  at  the  request 
of  the  publishers,  this  narrative  concerning  Rev.  WiUiam  A. 
Simday,  D.D. 

The  final  appraisal  of  the  man  and  his  ministry  cannot, 
of  course,  be  made  while  he  is  alive.  "Never  judge  unfiji- 
ished  work."  This  book  has  endeavored  to  deal  candidly, 
though  sympathetically,  with  its  subject.  Mr.  Simday  has 
not  seen  either  the  manuscript  or  proofs.  He  has,  however, 
authorized  the  use  of  the  messages  which  he  is  accustomed 
to  dehver  in  his  meetings,  and  which  comprise  more  than 
half  the  contents  of  the  volume. 

The  author's  hope  is  that  those  of  us  who  are  just 
plain  "folks"  wiU  find  thebook  interesting  and  helpful.  He 
has  no  doubt  that  professional  Christian  workers  will 
get  many  suggestions  from  the  story  of  Mr.  Simday's 
methods. 

I  would  acknowledge  the  assistance  of  Miss  Helen  Cramp 
and  the  R-ev.  Ernest  Bawden  in  collating  and  preparing 
for  publication  Mr.  Simday's  utterances. 

William  T.  Ellis. 

SWABTHMOBD.    Pa. 


CONTENTS 


PASB 


Preface 5 

Contents 7 

CHAPTER  I 
One  of  God's  Tools 

God^s  Man  Sent  in  God's  Time — Sunday's  Converts — Re- 
ligion and  the  Common  People — A  Great  City  Shaken 
by  the  Gospel — Popular  Interest  in  Vital  Religion — 
Sunday  a  Distinctively  American  Type 15 

CHAPTER  II 
Up  from  the  Soil 
Sunday's  Sympathy  with  Every-day  Folk — Early  Life — The 
Soldiers'  Orphanage — The  Old  Farm — Earning  a  Living. 
— The  School  of  Experience — First  Base-ball  Ventures    22 

CHAPTER  III 
A  Base-Ball  "Star" 
Fame  as  a  Base-ball  Player — Eagerness  to  "Take  a  Chance" 
— Record  Run  on  the  Day  Following  his  Conversion — 
The  Partmg  of  the  Ways 33 

CHAPTER  IV 
A  Curbstone  Recruit 
Mrs.  Clark  and  the  Pacific  Garden  Mission — Sunday's  Own 
Story  of  his  Conversion — Winning  the  Game  of  Life. . .     39 

CHAPTER  V 
Plajring  the  New  Game 
The  Individuality  of  the  Man — His  Marriage — Mrs.  Sun- 
day's Influence— Work  hi  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.— A  Father 
Disowned — Redeeming  a  Son — The  Gambler — A  Living 

Testimony — Professional  Evangelistic  Work 45 

(7) 


8  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VI 

A  Shut  Door — and  an  Open  One  mm 

Sunday  Thrown  Upon  His  Own  Resources  by  Dr.  Chap- 
man's Return  to  Philadelphia  —  Call  to  Gamer,  Iowa 
—"This  is  the  Lord's  Domgs"    67 

CHAPTER  VII 

Campaigning  for  Christ 

Splendid  Organization  of  a  Sunday  Campaign — Churcn  Co- 
operation— The  Power  of  Christian  PubUcity — ^District 
Prayer  Meetings — Sunday's  Army  of  Workers — The 
Sunday  Tabernacle — The  Evangelist's  Own  Compensa- 
tion— ^Personnel  of  the  Sunday  Party 61 

CHAPTER  VIII 

"Speech — Seasoned  with  Salt*' 

\^vid  Language  of  the  Common  People — "Rubbing  the 
Fur  the  Wrong  Way"— "DeHvermg  the  Goods"— Shak- 
ings from  the  Sunday  Salt-cellar. 69 

CHAPTER  rX 

Battling  with  Booze 

An  Effective  Foe  of  the  Liquor  Business — "Dry"  Victories 
Following  Sunday  Campaigns  — "  De  Brewer's  Big 
Hosses" — The  Famous  "Booze"  Sermon — Interest  in 
Manhood — ^Does  the  Saloon  Help  Business? — ^The  Parent 
of  Crimes — ^The  Economic  Side — Tragedies  Bom  of 
Drink — More  Economics — The  American  Mongoose — 
The  Saloon  a  Coward — God's  Worst  Enemy — ^What 
Wm  a  Dollar  Buy?— The  Gm  Mill— A  Chance  for  Man- 
hood —  Personal  Liberty  —  The  Moderate  Drinker  — 
What  Booze  Does  to  the  System 80 


CONTENTS  9 

CHAPTER  X 

"Give  Attendance  to  Reading"  ,^an 

Sunday's  Reverence  for  "Book  Learning" — ^No  Claim  to 
Originality — Some  Sources  of  His  Sermons  —  God's 
Token  of  Love— The  Sinking  Ship— "What  If  It  Had 
Been  My  Boy?"  — A  Dream  of  Heaven— The  Battle 
with  Death  — "Christ  or  Nothing"  — Calvary —  The 
World  for  God— A  Word  Picture— The  Faithful  Pilot. .  121 


CHAPTER  XI  , 

Acrobatic  Preaching 

Platform  Gymnastics — The  Athlete  in  the  Preacher — Sim- 
day's  Sense  of  Humor  Stronger  than  His  Sense  of 
Pathos  —  His  Voice  and  Manner  —  Personal  Side  of 
Sunday 138 


CHAPTER  Xn 

"The  Old-Time  Religion" 

Sunday's  Power  of  Positive  Conviction — ^His  Ideas  of  Theol- 
ogy— The  Need  of  Old-time  Revival — ^The  Gospel  Ac- 
cording to  Simday — Salvation  a  Personal  Matter — "And 
He  Arose  and  Followed  Him" — ^At  the  Cross-roads — 
"He  Died  for  Me" 146 


CHAPTER  Xm 

"Hitting  the  Sawdust  Trail" 

Origin  of  the  Phrase,  "The  Sawdust  Trail" — ^Impressive 
Scenes  as  Converts  by  the  Hundred  Stream  Forward — 
"Vital  Religion — ^Mr.  Sunday's  Hand — ^All  Sorts  and  Con- 
ditions of  People 168 


10  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XIV 

The  Service  of  Society  p^up 

Social  and  Ethical  Results  of  Sunday's  Preaching — ^The  Potent 
Force  of  the  Gospel — Religion  in  Every-day  Life — 
Testimony  of  Rev.  Joseph  H.  Odell,  D.D. — Testimony 
of  Rev.  Maitland  Alexander,  D.D. — ^The  "Garage  Bible 
Class" — Making  Religion  a  Subject  of  Ordinary  Con- 
versation— Lasting  Results — ^A  Life  Story 167 

CHAPTER  XV 

Oiving  the  Devil  His  Due 

Sunday's  Sense  of  the  Reality  of  the  Devil — ^Excoriation 
of  the  Devil — "Devil"  Passages  from  Sermons 182 

CHAPTER  XVI 

Critics  and  Criticism 

Storm  of  Criticism  a  Tribute — Preaching  "Christ  Crucified'* 
— Recognition  from  Secretary  Bryan — Pilgrimage  of 
Philadelphia  Clergymen — Heaven's  Messenger — Plain 
Speech  from  Sunday  Himself 188 

CHAPTER  XVII 

A  Clean  Man  on  Social  Sins 

Clean-mindedness  of  the  Man — ^A  Plain  Talk  to  Men — 
Christian  Character — Common  Sense — ^No  Excuse  for 
Swearing — ^Family  Skeletons — ^Nursing  Bad  Habits — 
The  Leprosy  of  Sm — "But  the  Lord  Looketh  on  the 
Heart"— The  Joy  of  Religion  — A  Plam  Talk  to 
Women — Hospitahty — Maternity  Out  of  Fashion — The 
Girl  Who  Flirts— The  Task  of  Womanhood 202 


CONTENTS  11 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
"Help  Those  Women"  p^^a. 

Sunday's  Honor  of  Womanhood — The  Sermon  on  "Mother" 
— ^A  Mother's  Watchfuhiess — A  Mother's  Bravery — 
Good  Mothers  Needed — God's  Hall  of  Fame — ^A  Moth- 
er's Song — ^A  Mother's  Love — A  Mother's  Responsi- 
bility—Mothers of  Great  Men  231 

CHAPTER  XIX 
Standing  on  the  Rock 
The  Old-Fashioned  Loyalty  of  the  Evangehst  to  the  Bible- 
Some  of  His  Utterances  on  the  Bible 249 

CHAPTER  XX 
Making  a  Joyful  Noise 
No  Gloom  in  a  Sunday  Revival — The  Value  of  a  Laugh — 
The  Value  of  Music — The  Tabernacle  Music — The  Cam- 
paign Choirs — A  Revival  of  Song 261 

CHAPTER  XXI 
The  Prophet  and  His  Own  Time 

The  Evangelist's  Arraignment  of  the  Sins  of  Today — His 
Treatment  of  the  Church  and  Society 267 

CHAPTER  XXII 

Those  Billy  Simday  Prayers 

Unconventionality    of    the    Prayers  —  Specimen   Prayers — 

"Teach    Us  to    Pray" — Learning   of    Christ  —  Pride 

Hinders  Prayer — ^Praying  in  Secret — ^Praying  in  Humility 

— Men  of  Prayer 271 

CHAPTER  XXin 
The  Revival  on  Trial 

The  Sea  of  Faces— Laboratory  Tests—  "The  Need  of 
Revivals" — What  a  Revival  Does — Revival  Demands 
Sacrifice — Persecution  a  Godsend  288 


H 


CHAPTER  I 
One  of  God's  Tools 

I  want  to  be  a  giant  for  God. — Billy  Sundat. 

EAVEN  often  plays  jokes  on  earth's  worldly-wise. 
After  the  consensus  of  experience  and  sagacity  has 
settled  upon  a  certain  course  and  type,  lo,  all  the 
profundity  of  the  sages  is  blown  away  as  a  speck  of  dust 
and  we  have,  say,  a  shockingly  unconventional  John  the 
Baptist,  who  does  not  follow  the  prescribed  rules  in  dress, 
training,  methods  or  message.  John  the  Baptist  was  God's 
laugh  at  the  rabbis  and  the  Pharisees. 

In  an  over-ecclesiastical  age,  when  churchly  authority 
had  reached  the  limit,  a  poor  monk,  child  of  a  miner's  hut, 
without  influence  or  favor,  was  called  to  break  the  power  of 
the  popes,  and  to  make  empires  and  reshape  history,  flinging 
his  shadow  far  down  the  centuries.  Martin  Luther  was  God's 
laugh  at  ecclesiasticism. 

While  the  brains  and  aristocracy  and  professional 
statesmanship  of  America  struggled  in  vain  with  the  nation's 
greatest  crisis,  God  reached  down  close  to  the  soil  of  the  raw 
and  ignored  Middle  West,  and  picked  up  a  gaunt  and  un- 
tutored specimen  of  the  common  people — a  man  who  reeked 
of  the  earth  until  the  earth  closed  over  him — and  so  saved  the 
Union  and  freed  a  race,  through  ungainly  Abraham  Lincoln. 
Thus  again  Heaven  laughed  at  exalted  procedure  and 
conventionahty. 

In  our  own  day,  with  its  blatant  worldly  wisdom,  with 
its  flaunting  prosperity,  with  its  fashionable  churchliness, 
with  its  flood  of  "advanced"  theology  overwhelming  the 
pulpit,  God  needed  a  prophet,  to  call  his  people  back  to 
simple  faith  and  righteousness.  A  nation  imperiled  by 
luxury,  greed,  love  of  pleasm^e  and  unbelief  cried  aloud  for 
a  dehverer.    Surely  this  crisis  required  a  great  man,  learned 

(If) 


16  ONE  OF  GOD'S  TOOLS 

in  all  the  ways  of  the  world,  equipped  with  the  best  prep- 
aration of  American  and  foreign  universities  and  theological 
seminaries,  a  man  trained  in  ecclesiastical  leadership,  and 
approved  and  honored  by  the  courts  of  the  Church?  So 
worldly  wisdom  decreed.  But  God  laughed — and  produced, 
to  the  scandal  of  the  correct  and  conventional,  Billy  Sunday, 
a  common  man  from  the  common  people,  who,  like  Lincoln, 
so  wears  the  signs  and  savor  of  the  soil  that  fastidious  folk, 
to  whom  sweat  is  vulgar  and  to  whom  calloused  hands  are 
"bad  form,"  quite  lose  their  suavity  and  poise  in  calling 
him  "unrefined." 

That  he  is  God's  tool  is  the  first  and  last  word  about 
Billy  Simday.  He  is  a  "phenomenon"  only  as  God  is 
forever  doing  phenomenal  things,  and  upsetting  men's 
best-laid  plans.  He  is  simply  a  tool  of  God.  For  a  special 
work  he  is  the  special  instrument.  God  called,  and  he 
answered.  All  the  many  owlish  attempts  to  "explain" 
Billy  Sunday  on  psychological  and  sociological  groimds  fall 
flat  when  they  ignore  the  fact  that  he  is  merely  a  handy 
man  for  the  Lord's  present  use. 

God  is  still,  as  ever,  confounding  all  human  wisdom  by 
snatching  the  condemned  baby  of  a  Hebrew  slave  out  of 
Egypt's  river  to  become  a  nation's  deUverer;  by  calling  a 
shepherd  boy  from  his  sheep  to  be  Israel's  greatest  warrior 
and  king;  and  by  sending  his  only-begotten  Son  to  earth  by 
way  of  a  manger,  and  training  him  in  a  workingman's  home 
and  a  village  carpenter  shop.  ' '  My  ways  are  not  your  ways,'* 
is  a  remark  of  God,  which  he  seems  fond  of  repeating  and 
illustrating. 

There  is  no  other  explanation  of  Billy  Sunday  needed, 
or  possible,  than  that  he  is  God's  man  sent  in  God's  time. 
And  if  God  chooses  the  weak  and  fooUsh  things  of  earth  to 
confoimd  the  mighty,  is  not  that  but  another  one  of  his 
inscrutable  ways  of  showing  that  he  is  God? 

Why  are  we  so  confident  that  Billy  Sunday  is  the  Lord's 
own  man,  when  so  many  learned  critics  have  declared  the 
contrary?    Simply  because  he  has  led  more  persons  to  make 


ONE  OF  GOD'S  TOOLS  17 

a  public  confession  of  discipleship  to  Jesus  Christ  than  any 
other  man  for  a  century  past.  Making  Christians  is,  from 
all  angles,  the  greatest  work  in  the  world.  Approximately 
three  hundred  thousand  persons,  in  the  past  twenty-five 
years,  have  taken  Sunday's  hand,  in  token  that  henceforth 
their  lives  belong  to  the  Saviour. 

That  amazing  statement  is  too  big  to  be  grasped  at 
once.  It  requires  thinking  over.  The  huge  total  of  dry 
figures  needs  to  be  broken  up  into  its  component  parts  of 
hving  human  beings.  Tens  of  thousands  of  those  men  were 
husbands — ^hundreds  of  whom  had  been  separated  from  their 
wives  and  children  by  sin.  Now,  in  reunited  homes,  whole 
families  bless  the  memory  of  the  man  of  God  who  gave  them 
back  husbands  and  fathers.  Other  tens  of  thousands  were 
sons,  over  many  of  whom  parents  had  long  prayed  and 
agonized.  It  would  be  hard  to  convince  these  mothers, 
whose  sons  have  been  given  back  to  clean  Hving  and  to 
Christian  service,  that  there  is  anything  seriously  wrong  with 
Mr.  Sunday's  language,  methods  or  theology.  Business 
men  who  find  that  a  Sunday  revival  means  the  paying  up 
of  the  bad  bUls  of  old  customers  are  ready  to  approve  on 
this  evidence  a  man  whose  work  restores  integrity  in  com- 
mercial relations. 

Every  conceivable  type  of  humanity  is  included  in 
that  total  of  over  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  converts.  The 
college  professor,  the  prosperous  business  man,  the  eminent 
poHtician,  the  farmer,  the  lawyer,  the  editor,  the  doctor,  the 
author,  the  athlete,  the  "man  about  town,"  the  criminal, 
the  drunkard,  the  society  woman,  the  coUege  student,  the 
workingman,  the  school  boy  and  girl:  the  whole  gamut  of 
life  is  covered  by  the  stream  of  humanity  that  has  "hit 
the  sawdust  trail" — ^a  phrase  which  has  chilled  the  marrow 
of  every  theological  sen\inary  in  the  land.  But  the  trail 
leads  home  to  the  Father's  House. 

One  must  reach  into  the  dictionary  for  big,  strong  worda 
in  characterizing  the  uniqueness  of  Billy  Sunday's  work. 
So  I  say  that  another  aspect  of  his  success  is  fairly  astoimd- 


18  ONE  OF  GOD'S  TOOLS 

ing.  He,  above  all  others  in  our  time,  has  broken  through 
the  thick  wall  of  indifference  which  separates  the  Church 
from  the  world.  Church  folk  commonly  avoid  the  subject 
of  this  great  fixed  gulf.  We  do  not  like  to  face  the  fact  that 
the  mass  of  mankind  does  not  bother  its  head  about  con- 
ventional religious  matters.  Even  the  majority  of  church- 
goers are  blankly  uninterested  in  the  general  affairs  of 
rehgion.  Sad  to  tell,  our  bishops  and  board  secretaries  and 
distinguished  preachers  are  really  only  local  celebrities. 
Their  names  mean  nothing  in  newspaper  offices  or  to  news- 
paper readers:  there  are  not  six  clergymen  in  the  United 
States  with  a  really  national  reputation.  Each  in  his  own 
circle,  of  locaUty  or  denomination,  may  be  Somebody  with  a 
big  S.  But  the  world  goes  on  unheeding.  Great  ecclesiasti- 
cal movements  and  meetings  are  entirely  unrecorded  by  the 
secular  press.  The  Chm-ch's  problem  of  problems  is  how 
to  smash,  or  even  to  crack,  the  partition  which  shuts  off  the 
world  from  the  Church. 

Billy  Simday  has  done  that.  He  has  set  all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  men  to  talking  about  religion.  Go  to  the 
lowest  dive  in  New  York's  "Tenderloin  "  or  in  San  Francisco's 
''Barbary  Coast,"  and  mention  the  name  ''Billy  Sunday," 
and  everybody  will  recognize  it,  and  be  ready  to  discuss  the 
man  and  his  message.  Stand  before  a  session  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society  and  pronounce  the  words  "Billy 
Sunday"  and  every  one  of  the  learned  savants  present  will 
be  able  to  talk  about  the  man,  even  though  few  of  them  know 
who  won  last  season's  base-ball  championship  or  who  is  the 
world's  champion  prize-fighter. 

This  is  a  feat  of  first  magnitude.  All  levels  of  society 
have  been  made  aware  of  Billy  Sunday  and  his  gospel. 
When  the  evangehst  went  to  New  York  for  an  evening 
address,  early  in  the  year  1914,  the  throngs  were  so  great 
that  the  police  were  overwhelmed  by  the  surging  thousands. 
Even  Mr.  Sunday  himself  could  not  obtain  admittance  to 
the  meeting  for  more  than  haff  an  hour.  Andrew  Carnegie 
could  not  get  into  the  hall  that  bears  his  name.     Probably 


ONE  OF  GOD'S  TOOLS  11^ 

a  greater  number  of  persons  tried  to  hear  this  evangelist 
that  night  than  were  gathered  in  all  the  churches  of  greater 
New  York  combined  on  the  preceding  Sunday  night.  To 
turn  thousands  of  persons  away  from  his  meetings  is  a 
common  experience  of  Mr.  Sunday.  More  than  ten  thousand, 
mostly  men,  tried  in  vain  to  get  into  the  overcrowded  Scran- 
ton  tabernacle  at  a  single  session.  Every  thoughtful  man 
or  woman  must  be  interested  in  the  man  who  thus  can  make 
religion  interesting  to  the  common  people. 

The  despair  of  the  present-day  Church  is  the  modern 
urban  center.  Our  generation  had  not  seen  a  great  city 
shaken  by  the  gospel  until  Billy  Sunday  went  to  Pittsburgh. 
That  he  did  it  is  the  unanimous  report  of  press  and  preachers 
and  business  men.  Literally  that  whole  city  was  stirred  to 
its  most  sluggish  depths  by  the  Sunday  campaign.  No 
base-ball  series  or  poUtical  campaign  ever  moved  the  com- 
munity so  deeply.  Everywhere  one  went  the  talk  was  of 
Billy  Simday  and  his  meetings.  From  the  bell  boys  in  the 
hotels  to  the  millionaires  in  the  Dusquesne  Club,  from  the 
workmen  in  the  mills  and  the  girls  in  the  stores,  to  the 
women  in  exclusive  gatherings,  Sunday  was  the  staple  of  con- 
versation. Philadelphia  more  than  duplicated  this  experience. 

Day  by  day,  all  the  newspapers  in  the  city  gave  whole 
pages  to  the  Sunday  meetings.  The  sermons  were  reported 
entire.  No  other  topic  ever  had  received  such  full  attention 
for  so  long  a  time  at  the  hands  of  the  press  as  the  Sunday 
campaign.  These  issues  of  the  papers  were  subscribed  for 
by  persons  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Men  and  women  were 
converted  who  never  heard  the  sound  of  the  evangelist's 
voice.  This  series  of  Philadelphia  meetings,  more  than  any- 
thing else  in  his  experience,  impressed  the  power  of  Sunday 
upon  the  metropolitan  centers  of  the  nation  at  large;  the 
country  folk  had  long  before  learned  of  him. 

Any  tabulation  of  Mr.  Sunday's  influence  must  give  a 
high  place  to  the  fact  that  he  has  made  good  press  "copy": 
he  has  put  religion  on  the  front  pages  of  the  dailies;  and  has 
made  it  a  present  issue  with  the  millions.     Under  modem 


20  ONE  OF  GOD^S  TOOLS 

conditions,  no  man  can  hope  to  evangelize  America  who  has 
not  also  access  to  the  columns  of  the  newspapers.  Within 
the  memory  of  living  men,  no  other  man  or  agency  has 
brought  religion  so  powerfully  and  consecutively  into  the 
press  as  WiUiam  A.  Sunday,  whom  some  of  his  scholarly 
critics  have  called  "ilUterate." 

All  of  which  proves  the  popular  interest  in  vital,  con- 
temporaneous religion.  Men's  ears  are  dulled  by  the  "shop 
talk"  of  the  pulpit.  They  are  weary  of  the  worn  platitudes 
of  professional  piety.  Nobody  cares  for  the  language  of 
Canaan,  in  which  many  ministers,  with  reverence  for  the 
dead  past,  have  tried  to  enswathe  the  Uving  truths  of  the 
Gospel,  as  if  they  were  mummies.  In  the  colloquial  tongue  of 
the  common  people,  Jesus  first  proclaimed  his  gospel,  and 
"the  common  people  heard  him  gladly,"  although  many  of 
the  learned  and  aristocratic  ecclesiastics  of  his  day  were 
scandahzed  by  his  free  and  popular  way  of  putting  things, 
by  his  "common"  stories,  and  by  his  disregard  for  the 
precedents  of  the  schools.  Whatever  else  may  be  said 
about  Billy  Sunday's  much-discussed  forms  of  speech,  this 
point  is  clear,  and  denied  by  nobody:  he  makes  himself 
and  his  message  clearly  understood  by  all  classes  of  people. 
However  much  one  may  disagree  with  him,  nobody  fails 
to  catch  his  meaning.  He  harnesses  the  common  words  of 
the  street  up  to  the  chariot  of  divine  truth.  Every-day  folk, 
the  uncritical,  unscholarly  crowd  of  us,  fiind  no  fault  \\dth 
the  fact  that  Sunday  uses  the  same  sort  of  terms  that  we 
do.  In  fresh,  vigorous,  gripping  style,  he  makes  his  message 
unmistakable. 

College  students  like  him  as  much  as  do  the  farmers 
and  mechanics.  In  a  single  day's  work  at  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  when  thousands  of  students  crowded  his 
meetings,  and  gave  reverent,  absorbed  attention  to  his 
message,  several  hundred  of  them  openly  dedicated  their 
lives  to  Christ,  and  in  token  thereof  pubhcly  grasped  his 
hand.  Dr.  John  R.  Mott,  the  world's  greatest  student 
leader,  once  said  to  me,  in  commenting  upon  Sunday: 


"God   likes  a  Little  Humor,   as  Evidenced  by  the  Fact  that  He 
iJUiDE  THE  Monkey,  the  Parrot — and  Some  op  You  People." 


ONE  OF  GOD'S  TOOLS  21 

"You  cannot  fool  a  great  body  of  students.  They  get  a 
man's  measure.  If  he  is  genuine,  they  know  it,  and  if  he  is 
not,  they  quickly  find  it  out.  Their  devotion  to  Mr.  Sunday 
is  very  significant." 

This  man,  who  meets  life  on  all  levels,  and  proves  that 
the  gospel  message  is  for  no  one  particular  class,  is  a  dis- 
tinctively American  type.  Somebody  has  said  that  the  circus 
is  the  most  democratic  of  American  institutions:  it  brings 
all  sorts  and  conditions  of  people  together  on  a  common 
plane  and  for  a  conunon  purpose.  The  Sunday  evangeHstic 
meetings  are  more  democratic  than  a  circus.  They  are  a 
singular  exhibit  of  American  life — perhaps  the  most  dis- 
tinctive gathering  to  be  found  in  oiu*  land  today.  His 
appeal  is  to  the  great  mass  of  the  people.  The  housekeepers 
who  seldom  venture  away  from  their  homes,  the  mechanics 
who  do  not  go  to  church,  the  "men  about  town"  who 
profess  a  cynical  disdain  for  rehgion,  the  "down  and  outs," 
the  millionaires,  the  society  women,  the  business  and  pro- 
fessional men,  the  young  fellows  who  feel  "too  big"  to  go 
to  Sunday  school — all  these,  and  scores  of  other  types, 
may  be  found  night  after  night  in  the  barn-like  wooden 
tabernacles  which  are  always  erected  for  the  Sunday  meet- 
ings. Our  cormnon  American  Hfe  seems  to  meet  and  merge 
in  this  base-ball  evangelist,  who  once  erected  tents  for 
another  evangelist,  and  now  has  to  have  special  auditoriums 
built  to  hold  his  own  crowds;  and  who  has  risen  from  a  log 
cabin  to  a  place  of  national  power  and  honor.  Nowhere 
else  but  in  America  could  one  find  such  an  unconventional 
figure  as  Billy  Sunday. 

Succeeding  chapters  will  tell  in  some  detail  the  story  of 
the  man  and  his  work;  and  in  most  of  them  the  man  will 
speak  his  own  messages.  But  for  explanation  of  his  power 
and  his  work  it  can  only  be  said,  as  of  old,  "There  was  a 
man  sent  from  God,  whose  name  was" — Billy  Simday. 


CHAPTER  II 
Up  from  the  SoU 

•    If  you  want  to  drive  the  devQ  out  of  the  worid,  hit  him  with  a  cradle 
instead  of  a  crutch. — Billy  Sunday. 

SUNDAY  must  be  accepted  as  a  man  of  the  American 
type  before  he  can  be  understood.  He  is  of  the 
average,  every-day  American  sort.  He  is  one  of  the 
"folks."  He  has  more  points  of  resemblance  to  the  com- 
mon people  than  he  has  of  difference  from  them.  His 
mind  is  their  mind.  The  keenness  of  the  average  American 
is  his  in  an  increased  degree.  He  has  the  saving  sense  of 
humor  which  has  marked  this  western  people.  The  extrava- 
gances and  recklessnesses  of  his  speech  would  be  incredible 
to  a  Britisher;  but  we  Americans  understand  them.  They 
are  of  a  piece  with  our  minds. 

Like  the  type,  Sunday  is  not  over-fastidious.  He  is 
not  made  of  a  special  porcelain  clay,  but  of  the  same  red  soil 
as  the  rest  of  us.  He  knows  the  barn-yards  of  the  farm 
better  than  the  drawing-rooms  of  the  rich.  The  normal, 
every-day  Americanism  of  this  son  of  the  Middle  West, 
whom  the  nation  knows  as  "Billy  Sunday, "  is  to  be  insisted 
upon  if  he  is  to  be  understood. 

Early  apprenticed  to  hardship  and  labor,  he  has  a 
sympathy  with  the  life  of  the  toiling  people  which  mere 
imagination  cannot  give.  His  knowledge  of  the  American 
crowd  is  sure  and  complete  because  he  is  one  of  them. 
He  understands  the  life  of  every-day  folk  because  that  has 
always  been  his  life.  While  he  has  obvious  natural  ability, 
sharpened  on  the  grindstone  of  varied  experience,  his 
perceptions  and  his  viewpoints  are  altogether  those  of  the 
normal  American.  As  he  has  seen  something  of  life  on 
many  levels,  and  knows  city  ways  as  well  as  country  usages, 
he  has  never  lost  his  bearings  as  to  what  sort  of  people 


UP  FROM  THE  SOIL  23 

tnsile  up  the  bulk  of  this  country.  To  them  his  sermons 
are  addressed.  Because  he  strikes  this  medium  level  of 
common  conduct  and  thought,  it  is  easy  for  those  in  all  the 
ranges  of  American  life  to  comprehend  him. 

"Horse-sense,"  that  fundamental  American  virtue,  is 
Sunday's  to  an  eminent  degree.  A  modem  American 
philosopher  defines  this  quahty  of  mind  as  "an  instinctive 
something  that  tells  us  when  the  clock  strikes  twelve." 
Because  he  is  "rich  in  saving  common  sense,"  Sunday 
understands  the  people  and  trusts  them  to  understand  him. 
His  most  earnest  defenders  from  the  beginning  of  his  public 
life  have  been  the  rank  and  file  of  the  common  people. 
His  critics  have  come  from  the  extreme  edges  of  society — 
the  scholar,  or  the  man  whose  business  is  hm-t  by  right- 
eousness. 

The  life  of  William  A.  Sunday  covers  the-  period  of 
American  history  since  the  Civil  War.  He  never  saw  his 
father,  for  he  was  bom  the  third  son  of  pioneer  parents  on 
November  19,  1862,  four  months  after  his  father  had 
enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  E,  Twenty-third  Iowa 
Infantry  Volimteers. 

There  is  nothing  remarkable  to  record  as  to  the  family. 
They  were  one  with  the  type  of  the  middle-western  Ameri- 
cans who  wrested  that  empire  from  the  wilderness,  and 
counted  poverty  honorable.  In  those  mutually  helpful, 
splendidly  independent  days.  Democracy  came  to  its 
flower,  and  the  American  type  was  born. 

Real  patriotism  is  always  purchased  at  a  high  price; 
none  pay  more  dearly  for  war-time  loyalty  than  the 
women  who'  send  their  husbands  and  sons  to  the  front, 
Mrs.  Sunday  bade  her  husband  answer  the  call  of  his 
country  as  only  a  brave  woman  could  do,  and  sent  him 
forth  to  the  service  and  sacrifices  which  soon  ended  in  an 
unmarked  grave.  Four  months  after  she  had  bidden  fare- 
well to  her  husband,  she  bade  welcome  to  his  son.  To  this 
third  child  she  gave  the  name  of  her  absent  soldier  husband. 

The  mother's  dreams  of  the  returning  soldier's  delight 


24  UP  FROM  THE  SOIL 

in  his  namesake  child  were  soon  shattered  by  the  tidings 
that  Private  William  Sunday  had  died  of  disease  con- 
tracted in  service,  at  Patterson,  Missouri,  on  December 
22,  1862,  a  little  more  than  a  month  after  the  birth  of  the 
boy  who  was  to  lift  his  name  out  of  the  obscurity  of  the 
hosts  of  those  who  gave  "the  last  full  measure  of  devotion" 
to  their  nation. 

Then  the  mother  was  called  upon  to  take  up  that 
heaviest  of  all  burdens  of  patriotism — the  rearing  of  an 
orphan  family  in  a  home  of  dire  poverty.  The  three  chil- 
dren in  the  Sunday  home  out  at  Ames,  Iowa — ^Roy,  Edward 
and  William — ^were  imwitting  participants  in  another  aspect 
of  war,  the  lot  of  soldiers'  orphans.  For  years,  IMrs.  Sunday, 
who  at  this  writing  is  still  living  and  rejoicing  in  the  successes 
of  her  son,  was  able  to  keep  her  little  family  together  under 
the  roof  of  the  two-roomed  log  cabin  which  they  called  home. 
In  those  early  days  their  grandfather.  Squire  Corey,  was 
of  unmeasured  help  in  providing  for  and  training  the  three 
orphan  boys. 

Experience  is  a  school  teacher  who  carries  a  rod,  as 
Sunday  could  well  testify.  He  learned  life's  fundamental 
lessons  in  the  school  of  poverty  and  toil.  To  the  part  which 
his  mother  played  in  shaping  his  life  and  ideals  he  has  borne 
eloquent  tribute  on  many  platforms.  When  the  youngest 
son  was  twelve  years  old,  he  and  his  older  brother  were  sent 
off  to  the  Soldiers'  Orphanage  at  Glenwood,  Iowa.  Later 
they  were  transferred  to  the  Davenport  Orphanage,  which 
they  left  in  June  of  1876,  making  two  years  spent  in  the 
orphanages.  Concerning  this  experience  Simday  himself 
speaks: 

"I  was  bred  and  bom  (not  in  old  Kentucky,  although 
my  grandfather  was  a  Kentuckian),  but  in  old  Iowa.  I 
am  a  rube  of  the  rubes.  I  am  a  hayseed  of  the  hayseeds,  and 
the  malodors  of  the  barnyard  are  on  me  yet,  and  it  beats 
Pinaud  and  Colgate,  too.  I  have  greased  my  hair  with 
goose  grease  and  blacked  my  boots  with  stove  blacking. 
I  have  wiped  my  old  proboscis  with  a  gunny-sack  towel; 


UP  FROM  THE  SOIL  25 

I  have  drunk  coffee  out  of  my  saucer,  and  I  have  eaten  with 
my  knife;  I  have  said  'done  it,'  when  I  should  have  said 
'did  it,'  and  I  'have  saw'  when  I  should  'have  seen,'  and  I 
expect  to  go  to  heaven  just  the  same.  I  have  crept  and 
crawled  out  from  the  university  of  poverty  and  hard  knocks, 
and  have  taken  postgraduate  courses. 

"My  father  went  to  the  war  four  months  before  I  was 
bom,  in  Company  E,  Twenty-third  Iowa.  I  have  butted 
and  fought  and  struggled  since  I  was  six  years  old.  That's 
one  reason  why  I  wear  that  Uttle  red,  white  and  blue  button. 
I  know  all  about  the  dark  and  seamy  side  of  Hfe,  and  if 
ever  a  man  fought  hard,  I  have  fought  hard  for  everything 
I  have  ever  gained. 

"The  wolf  scratched  at  the  cabin  door  and  finally 
mother  said :  '  Boys,  I  am  going  to  send  you  to  the  Soldiers' 
Orphans'  Home.'  At  Ames,  Iowa,  we  had  to  wait  for  the 
train,  and  we  went  to  a  little  hotel,  and  they  came  about 
one  o'clock  and  said:  'Get  ready  for  the  train.' 

"I  looked  into  mother's  face.  Her  eyes  were  red,  her 
hair  was  disheveled.  I  said:  'What's  the  matter,  mother?' 
All  the  time  Ed  and  I  slept  mother  had  been  praying.  We 
went  to  the  train;  she  put  one  arm  about  me  and  the  other 
about  Ed  and  sobbed  as  if  her  heart  would  break.  People 
walked  by  and  looked  at  us,  but  they  didn't  say  a  word. 

"Why?  They  didn't  know,  and  if  they  had  they 
wouldn't  have  cared.  Mother  knew;  she  knew  that  for 
years  she  wouldn't  see  her  boys.  We  got  into  the  train 
and  said,  'Good-bye,  mother,'  as  the  train  pulled  out.  We 
reached  Council  Bluffs.  It  was  cold  and  we  turned  up  our 
coats  and  shivered.  We  saw  the  hotel  and  went  up  and  asked 
the  woman  for  something  to  eat.  She  said:  'What's  your 
name?' 

"'My  name  is  Wilham  Sunday,  and  this  is  my  brother 
Ed.' 

"'Where  are  you  going?' 

"'Going  to  the  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home  at  Glenwood.' 

"She  wiped  her  tears  and  said:    'My  husband  was  a 


26 


UP  FROM  THE  SOIL 


soldier  and  he  never  came  back.  He  wouldn't  turn  any 
one  away  and  I  wouldn't  turn  you  boys  away.'  She  drew 
her  arms  about  us  and  said:  'Come  on  in.'  She  gave  us 
our  breakfast  and  our  dinner,  too.  There  wasn't  any  train 
going  out  on  the  'Q'  until  afternoon.  We  saw  a  freight 
train  standing  there,  so  we  climbed  into  the  caboose. 

"The  conductor  came  along  and  said:     'Where's  your 

money  or  ticket?' 
'"Ain't    got 
any.' 

'"I'll  have  to 
put  you  off.' 

"We  com- 
menced to  cry. 
My  brother  handed 
him  a  letter  of  in- 
troduction to  the 
superintendent  of 
the  orphans'  home. 
The  conductor  read 
it,  and  handed  it 
back  as  the  tears 
rolled  down  his 
cheeks.  Then  he 
said:  'Just  sit 
still,  boys.    It  won't  cost  a  cent  to  ride  on  my  train.' 

"It's  only  twenty  miles  from  Council  Bluffs  to  Glen- 
wood,  and  as  we  rounded  the  curve  the  conductor  said: 
'There  it  is  on  the  hill.' 

"I  want  to  say  to  you  that  one  of  the  brightest  pictures 
that  hangs  upon  the  walls  of  my  memory  is  the  recollection 
of  the  days  when  as  a  little  boy,  out  in  the  log  cabin  on  the 
frontier  of  Iowa,  I  knelt  by  mother's  side. 

"I  went  back  to  the  old  farm  some  years  ago.  The 
scenes  had  changed  about  the  place.  Faces  I  had  known 
and  loved  had  long  since  turned  to  dust.  Fingers  that  used 
to  turn  the  pages  of  the  Bible  were  obliterated  and  the  old 


"Where's  Yoxjb  Monet  ob  Ticket?" 


UP  FROM  THE  SOIL  27 

trees  beneath  which  we  boys  used  to  play  and  swing  had  been 
felled  by  the  woodman's  axe.  I  stood  and  thought.  The 
man  became  a  child  again  and  the  long  weary  nights  of  sin 
and  of  hardships  became  as  though  they  never  had  been. 
*'Once  more  with  my  gun  on  my  shoulder  and  my  favor- 
ite dog  trailing  at  my  heels  I  walked  through  the  pathless 
wood  and  sat  on  the  old  familiar  logs  and  stumps,  and  as  I 
sat  and  listened  to  the  wild,  weird  harmonies  of  nature, 
a  vision  of  the  past  opened.  The  squirrel  from  the  limb  of 
the  tree  barked  defiantly  and  I  threw  myself  into  an  interro- 
gation point,  and  when  the  gun  cracked,  the  squirrel  fell 
at  my  feet.  I  grabbed  him  and  ran  home  to  throw  him  down 
and  receive  compliments  for  my  skill  as  a  marksman.  And 
I  saw  the  tapestry  of  the  evening  fall.  I  heard  the  lowing 
herds  and  saw  them  wind  slowly  o'er  the  lea  and  I  listened 
to  the  tinkling  bells  that  lulled  the  distant  fowl.  Once  more 
I  heard  the  shouts  of  childish  glee.  Once  more  I  climbed 
the  haystack  for  the  hen's  eggs.  Once  more  we  crossed  the 
threshold  and  sat  at  our  frugal  meal.  Once  more  mother 
drew  the  trundle  bed  out  from  under  the  larger  one,  and  we 
boys,  kneeling  down,  shut  our  eyes  and  clasping  our  httle 
hands,  said:  'Now  I  lay  me  down  to  sleep;  I  pray  the 
Lord,  my  soul  to  keep.  If  I  should  die  before  I  wake,  I 
pray  thee,  Lord,  my  soul  to  take.  And  this  I  ask  for  Jesus' 
Bake,  Amen.' 

"  'Backward,  turn  backward,  0  time  in  thy  flight. 
Make  me  a  child  again,  just  for  tonight, 
Mother,  come  back  from  that  echoless  shore. 
Take  me  again  to  your  heart  as  of  yore. 
Into  the  old  cradle  I'm  longing  to  creep, 
Rock  me  to  sleep,  mother,  rock  me  to  sleep.' 

"I  stood  beneath  the  old  oak  tree  and  it  seemed  to  carry 
on  a  conversation  with  me.     It  seemed  to  say: 
"'HeUoBill.    Is  that  you?' 
"  'Yes,  it's  I,  old  tree.' 
"  'Well,  you've  got  a  bald  spot  on  the  top  of  your  head. 


28  UP  FROM  THE  SOIL 

"  'Yes,  I  know,  old  tree.' 

"  'Won't  vou  climb  up  and  sit  on  my  limbs  as  you 
used  to?' 

"  'No,  I  haven't  got  time  now.  I'd  like  to,  though, 
awfully  well.' 

"  'Don't  go.  Bill.  Don't  you  remember  the  old  swing 
you  made?' 

"  'Yes,  I  remember;  but  I've  got  to  go.' 

"  'Say  Bill,  don't  you  remember  when  you  tried  to  play 
George  Washington  and  the  cherry  tree  and  almost  cut  me 
down?     That's  the  scar  you  made,  but  it's  almost  covered 
over  now.' 
-  "  'Yes,  I  remember  all,  but  I  haven't  time  to  stay.* 

"  'Are  you  comin'  back.  Bill?' 

"  'I  don't  know,  but  I'll  never  forget  you.' 

"Then  the  old  apple  tree  seemed  to  call  me  and  I  said: 
*I  haven't  time  to  wait,  old  apple  tree.' 

" '  I  want  to  go  back  to  the  orchard, 

The  orchard  that  used  to  be  mine, 
The  apples  are  reddening  and  filling 

The  air  with  their  wine. 
I  want  to  run  on  through  the  pasture 

And  let  down  the  dusty  old  bars, 
I  want  to  find  you  there  still  waiting, 

Your  eyes  like  the  twin  stars. 
Oh,  nights,  you  are  weary  and  dreary, 

And  days,  there  is  something  you  lack; 
To  the  farm  in  the  valley, 

I  want  to  go  back.' 

"I  tell  it  to  you  with  shame,  I  stretched  the  elastic 
bands  of  my  mother's  love  until  I  thought  they  would  break. 
I  went  far  into  the  dark  and  the  wrong  imtil  I  ceased  to 
hear  her  prayers  or  her  pleadings.  I  forgot  her  face,  and 
I  went  so  far  that  it  seemed  to  me  that  one  more  step  and  the 
elastic  bands  of  her  love  would  break  and  I  would  be  lost. 
But,  thank  God,  friends,  I  never  took  that  last  step.  Little 
by  little  I  yielded  to  the  tender  memories  and  recollections 


UP  FROM  THE  SOIL  •  29 

of  my  mother;  little  by  little  I  was  drawn  away  from  the 
yawning  abyss,  and  twenty-seven  years  ago,  one  dark  and 
stormy  night  in  Chicago,  I  groped  my  way  out  of  darkness 
into  the  arms  of  Jesus  Christ  and  I  fell  on  my  knees  and 
cried  'God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner!'  " 

Of  formal  education  the  boy  Sunday  had  but  little. 
He  went  to  school  intermittently,  hke  most  of  his  playmates, 
but  he  did  get  into  the  high  school,  although  he  was  never 
graduated.  Early  in  life  he  began  to  work  for  his  living, 
even  before  he  went  off  to  the  Soldiers'  Orphanage.  Con- 
cerning these  periods  of  early  toil  he  himself  has  spoken  as 
follows: 

"When  I  was  about  fourteen  years  old,  I  made  appli- 
cation for  the  position  of  janitor  in  a  school. 

"I  used  to  get  up  at  two  o'clock,  and  there  were  four- 
teen stoves  and  coal  had  to  be  carried  for  all  them.  I  had 
to  keep  the  fire  up  and  keep  up  my  studies  and  sweep  the 
floors.  I  got  twenty-five  dollars  a  month  salary.  Well, 
one  day  I  got  a  check  for  my  salary  and  I  went  right  down 
to  the  bank  to  get  it  cashed.  Right  in  front  of  me  was 
another  fellow  with  a  check  to  be  cashed,  and  he  shoved  his 
in,  and  I  came  along  and  shoved  my  check  in,  and  he  handed 
me  out  forty  dollars.  My  check  called  for  twenty-five 
dollars.  I  called  on  a  friend  of  mine  who  was  a  lawyer  in 
Kansas  City  and  told  him.  I  said:  'Frank,  what  do  you 
think,  Jay  King  handed  me  forty  dollars  and  my  check  only 
called  for  twenty-five  dollars.'  He  said,  'Bill,  if  I  had  your 
luck,  I  would  buy  a  lottery  ticket.'  But  I  said,  'The 
fifteen  dollars  is  not  mine.'  He  said,  'Don't  be  a  chump. 
If  you  were  shy  ten  dollars  and  you  went  back  you  would 
not  get  it,  and  if  they  hand  out  fifteen  dollars,  don't  be  a 
fool,  keep  it.' 

"Well,  he  had  some  drag  with  me  and  influenced  me. 
I  was  fool  enough  to  keep  it,  and  I  took  it  and  bought  a  suit 
of  clothes.  I  can  see  that  suit  now;  it  was  a  kind  of  brown, 
with  a  little  green  in  it  and  I  thought  I  was  the  goods,  I 
want  to  tell  you,  when  I  got  those  store  clothes  on.    That 


30  UP  FROM  THE  SOIL 

was  the  first  suit  of  store  clothes  I  had  ever  had,  and  I 
bought  that  suit  and  I  had  twenty-five  dollars  left  afte? 
I  did  it. 

''Years  afterwards  I  said,  *I  ought  to  be  a  Christian,' 
and  I  got  on  my  knees  to  pray,  and  the  Lord  seemed  to  touch 
me  on  the  back  and  say,  'Bill,  you  owe  that  Farmers'  Bank 
fifteen  dollars  with  interest,'  and  I  said,  'Lord,  the  bank 
don't  know  that  I  got  that  fifteen  dollars,'  and  the  Lord 
said  'I  know  it';  so  I  struggled  along  for  years,  probably 
like  some  of  you,  trying  to  be  decent  and  honest  and  right 
some  wrong  that  was  in  my  fife,  and  every  time  I  got  down 
to  pray  the  Lord  would  say,  'Fifteen  dollars  with  interest, 
Nevada  Coimty,  Iowa;  fifteen  dollars,  Bill.'  So  years 
afterwards  I  sent  that  money  back,  enclosed  a  check,  wrote 
a  letter  and  acknowledged  it,  and  I  have  the  peace  of  God 
from  that  day  to  this,  and  I  have  never  swindled  anyone 
out  of  a  dollar." 

There  are  other  kinds  of  education  besides  those  which 
award  students  a  skeepskin  at  the  end  of  a  stated  term. 
Sunday  has  no  sheepskin — neither  has  he  the  sheep  quaUty 
which  marks  the  machine-made  product  of  any  form  of 
training.  His  school  has  been  a  diversity  of  work,  where 
he  came  face  to  face  with  the  actualities  of  fife.  He  early 
had  to  shift  for  himself.  He  learned  the  priceless  lesson  of 
how  to  work,  regardless  of  what  the  particular  task  might 
be,  whether  it  was  scrubbing  floors  (and  he  was  an  expert 
scrubber  of  floors!),  or  preaching  a  sermon  to  twenty  thou- 
sand persons.  He  had  a  long  hard  drill  in  working  under 
authoritj":  that  is  why  he  is  able  to  exercise  authority  like 
a  major-genersl.  Because  personally  he  has  experienced, 
with  all  of  the  sensitiveness  of  an  American  small  boy,  the 
bitter  injustice  of  over- work  and  under-pay  under  an  oppres- 
sive task-master,  he  is  a  voice  for  the  toilers  of  the  world.  In 
this  same  diversified  school  ol  industry  he  learned  the  lesson 
of  thoroughnp3s  which  is  now  echoed  by  every  spike  in  his 
tabernacle  and  every  gesture  in  his  sermons.  Such  a  one 
as  he  could  not  have  come  from  a  conventional  educational 


UP  FROM  THE  SOIL  31 

course.  It  needed  this  hard  school  to  make  such  a  hardy 
man. 

It  was  while  a  youth  in  Marshalltown,  Iowa,  playing 
base  ball  on  the  lots,  that  Sunday  came  to  his  own.  Captain 
A.  C.  Anson,  the  famous  leader  of  the  Chicago  "White 
Sox,"  chanced  to  see  the  youth  of  twenty,  whose  phenomenal 
base-running  had  made  him  a  local  celebrity.  It  is  no  new 
experience  for  Sunday  to  be  a  center  of  pubhc  interest. 
He  has  known  this  since  boyhood.  The  local  base-ball 
"hero"  is  as  big  a  figure  in  the  eyes  of  his  own  particular 
circle  as  ever  a  great  evangeUst  gets  to  be  in  the  view  of 
the  world.  Because  his  ears  early  became  accustomed  to 
the  huzzahs  of  the  crowd,  Sunday's  head  has  not  been  turned 
by  much  of  the  foohsh  adulation  which  has  been  his  since 
he  became  an  evangehst. 

A  level  head,  a  quick  eye,  and  a  body  which  is  such  a 
finely  trained  instrument  that  it  can  meet  all  drafts  upon 
it,  is  part  of  Sunday's  inheritance  from  his  fife  on  the  base- 
ball diamond. 

Most  successfxil  base-ball  players  enter  the  major 
leagues  by  a  succession  of  steps.  With  Sunday  it  was  quite 
otherwise.  Because  he  fell  under  the  personal  eye  of  "Pop " 
Anson  he  was  borne  directly  from  the  fields  of  Marshall- 
town,  Iowa,  to  the  great  park  of  the  Chicago  team.  That 
was  in  1883,  when  Sunday  was  not  yet  twenty-one  years  of 
age.  His  mind  was  still  formative — a  quaUty  it  retains  to  this 
day — and  his  entrance  into  the  larger  field  of  base  ball 
trained  him  to  think  in  broad  terms.  It  widened  his  hori- 
zon and  made  him  reasonably  indifferent  to  the  comments 
of  the  crowds. 

A  better  equipment  for  the  work  he  is  doing  could  not 
have  been  found;  for  above  all  else  Sunday  "plays  ball." 
While  others  discuss  methods  and  bewail  conditions  he  keeps 
the  game  going.  Such  a  volume  of  criticism  as  no  other 
evangehst,  within  the  memory  of  living  men,  has  ever 
received,  has  fallen  harmless  from  his  head,  because  he  has 
not  turned  aside  to  argue  with  the  lunpire,  but  has  "played 
baU." 


82  UP  FROM  THE  SOIL 

There  is  no  call  for  tears  or  heroics  over  the  early 
experiences  of  Sunday.  His  life  was  normal;  no  different 
from  that  of  tens  of  thousands  of  other  American  boys.  He 
himself  was  in  no  wise  a  phenomenon.  He  was  possessed  of 
no  special  abilities  or  inclinations.  He  came  to  his  preaching 
gift  only  after  years  of  experience  in  Christian  work.  It  is 
clear  that  a  Divine  Providence  utilized  the  very  ordinariness 
of  his  life  and  training  to  make  him  an  ambassador  to  the 
common  people. 


CHAPTER  m 
A  Base-BaU  "Star" 

Don't  get  chesty  over  success. — ^Billt  Sunday. 

SOMETIMES  the  preacher  tells  his  people  what  a  great 
joumahsfc  he  might  have  been,  or  what  a  successful 
business  man,  had  he  not  entered  the  ministry;  but 
usually  his  hearers  never  would  have  suspected  it  if  he  had 
not  told  them.  Billy  Simday's  eminence  as  a  base-ball 
player  is  not  a  shadow  cast  backward  from  his  present  pre- 
eminence. His  success  as  a  preacher  has  gained  luster  from 
his  distinction  as  a  base-ball  player,  while  his  fame  as  a  base- 
ball player  has  been  kept  alive  by  his  work  as  an  evangeUst. 

AU  the  world  of  base-ball  enthusiasts,  a  generation  ago, 
knew  Billy  Simday,  the  speediest  base-runner  and  the  most 
daring  base-stealer  in  the  whole  fraternity.  Wherever  he 
goes  today  veteran  devotees  of  the  national  game  recall 
times  they  saw  him  play;  and  sporting  periodicals  and 
sporting  pages  of  newspapers  have  been  filled  with  remi- 
niscences from  base-ball  "fans,"  of  the  triumphs  of  the 
evangeUst  on  the  diamond. 

A  side  Hght  on  the  reality  of  his  religion  while  engaged 
in  professional  base  ball  is  thrown  by  the  fact  that  sporting 
writers  always  speak  of  him  with  pride  and  loyalty,  and  his 
old  base-ball  associates  who  still  survive,  go  frequently  to 
hear  him  preach.  The  base-ball  world  thinks  that  he  reflects 
distinction  on  the  game. 

Now  base  ball  in  Marshalltown  and  base  ball  in  Chicago 
had  not  exactly  the  same  standards.  The  recruit  had  to  be 
drilled.  He  struck  out  the  first  thirteen  times  he  went  to 
bat.  He  never  became  a  superior  batter,  but  he  could 
always  throw  straight  and  hard.  At  first  he  was  inclined 
to  take  too  many  chances  and  his  judgment  was  rathei 
unsafe.      One  base-ball   writer  has  said  that   "Sunday 

9  (33)  _ 


34 


A  BASE-BALL    "STAR" 


probably  caused  more  wide  throws  than  any  other  player 
the  game  has  ever  known,  because  of  his  specialty  of  going 
down  to  first  like  a  streak  of  greased  electricity.  When  he 
hit  the  ball  infielders  yelled  'hurry  it  up.'  The  result  was 
that  they  often  threw  them  away."  He  was  the  acknowl- 
edged champion  sprinter  of  the  National  League.  This  once 
led  to  a  match  race  with  Arlie  Latham,  who  held  like  honors 
in  the  American  League.     Sunday  won  by  fifteen  feet. 

Sunday  was  the  sort  of  figure  the  bleachers  liked.  He 
was  always  eager — sometimes  too  eager —  to"  take  a  chance." 
WTiat  was  a  one-base  hit  for  another  man  was  usually  good 

for  two  bases  for 
him.  His  slides  and 
stolen  bases  were 
adventures  beloved 
of  the  "fans"— the 
spice  of  the  game. 
He  also  was  apt  in 
.  Oj  retort  to  the  com- 
~^#^  ments  from  the 
bleachers,  but  al- 
ways good-natured. 
The  crowds  liked 
him,  even  as  did  his 
team  mates. 
Sunday  was  a  man's  man,  and  so  continues  to  this  day. 
His  tabernacle  audiences  resemble  base-ball  crowds  in  the 
proportion  of  men  present,  more  nearly  than  any  other 
meetings  of  a  religious  nature  that  are  regularly  being  held. 
Sunday  spent  five  years  on  the  old  Chicago  team,  mostly 
playing  right  or  center  field.  He  was  the  first  man  in  the 
history  of  base  ball  to  circle  the  bases  in  fourteen  seconds. 
He  could  run  a  hundred  yards  from  a  standing  start  in  ten 
seconds  flat.  Speed  had  always  been  his  one  distinction. 
As  a  lad  of  thirteen,  in  the  Fourth  of  July  games  at  Ames, 
he  won  a  prize  of  three  dollars  in  a  foot-race,  a  feat 
which  he  recalls  with  pleasure. 


His  Sudes  Were  Adventures  Beloved 
OP  THE  "Fans" 


A   BASE-BALL  "STAR"  35 

Speed  is  a  phase  of  base  ball  that,  being  clear  to  all 
eyes,  appeals  to  the  bleachers.  So  it  came  about  that 
Sunday  was  soon  a  base-ball  "hero,"  analogous  to  "Ty" 
Cobb  or  "Home-Run"  Baker,  or  Christy  Mathewson  of 
our  own  day.  He  himself  tells  the  story  of  one  famous 
play,  on  the  day  after  his  conversion: 

"That  afternoon  w^e  played  the  old  Detroit  club.  We 
were  neck  and  neck  for  the  championship.  That  club  had 
Thompson,  Richardson,  Rowe,  Dunlap,  Hanlon  and  Bennett, 
and  they  could  play  ball. 

"I  was  playing  right  field.  Mike  Kelly  was  catching 
and  John  G.  Clarkson  was  pitching.  He  was  as  fine  a 
pitcher  as  ever  crawled  into  a  imiform.  There  are  some 
pitchers  today,  O'Toole,  Bender,  Wood,  Mathewson,  John- 
son, Marquard,  but  I  do  not  beheve  any  one  of  them  stood 
in  the  class  with  Clarkson. 

"Cigarettes  put  him  on  the  bum.  When  he'd  taken  a 
bath  the  water  would  be  stained  with  nicotine. 

"We  had  two  men  out  and  they  had  a  man  on  second 
and  one  on  third  and  Bennett,  their  old  catcher,  was  at  bat. 
Charley  had  three  balls  and  two  strikes  on  him.  Charley 
couldn't  hit  a  high  ball :  but  he  could  kill  them  when  they 
went  about  his  knee. 

"I  hollered  to  Clarkson  and  said:  'One  more  and  we 
got  'em.' 

"You  know  eveiy  pitcher  puts  a  hole  in  the  ground 
where  he  puts  his  foot  when  he  is  pitching.  John  stuck  his 
foot  in  the  hole  and  he  went  clean  to  the  ground.  Oh,  he 
could  make  'em  dance.  He  could  throw  overhanded,  and 
the  ball  would  go  down  and  up  like  that.  He  is  the  only 
man  on  earth  I  have  seen  do  that.  That  ball  would  go  by 
so  fast  that  the  batter  could  feel  the  thermometer  drop  two 
degrees  as  she  whizzed  by.  John  went  clean  down,  and  as 
he  went  to  throw  the  ball  his  right  foot  slipped  and  the  baU 
went  low  instead  of  high. 

"I  saw  Charley  swing  hard  and  heard  the  bat  hit  the 
ball  with  a  terrific  boom.     Bennett  had  smashed  the  ball 


36  •    A   BASE-BALL  "STAR" 

on  the  nose.  I  saw  the  ball  rise  in  the  air  and  knew  that  it 
was  going  clear  over  my  head. 

"I  could  judge  within  ten  feet  of  where  the  ball  would 
light.     I  turned  my  back  to  the  ball  and  ran. 

"The  field  was  crowded  with  people  and  I  yelled, 
*  Stand  back!'  and  that  crowd  opened  as  the  Red  Sea 
opened  for  the  rod  of  Moses.  I  ran  on,  and  as  I  ran  I  made 
a  prayer;  it  wasn't  theological,  either,  I  tell  you  that.  I 
said,  'God,  if  you  ever  helped  mortal  man,  help  me  to  get 
that  ball,  and  you  haven't  very  much  time  to  make  up 
your  mind,  either.*  I  ran  and  jumped  over  the  bench  and 
stopped. 

"I  thought  I  was  close  enough  to  catch  it.  I  looked 
back  and  saw  it  was  going  over  my  head  and  I  jumped  and 
shoved  out  my  left  hand  and  the  ball  hit  it  and  stuck.  At 
the  rate  I  was  going  the  momentum  carried  me  on  and  I 
fell  imder  the  feet  of  a  team  of  horses.  I  jumped  up  with  the 
ball  in  my  hand.  Up  came  Tom  Johnson.  Tom  used  to 
be  mayor  of  Cleveland.     He's  dead  now. 

"  'Here  is  $10,  Bill.  Buy  yourself  the  best  hat  in 
Chicago.  That  catch  won  me  $1,500.  Tomorrow  go  and 
buy  yourself  the  best  suit  of  clothes  you  can  find  in  Chicago. ' 

"An  old  Methodist  minister  said  to  me  a  few  years 
ago,  'Why,  WilHam,  you  didn't  take  the  $10,  did  you?' 
I  said,  'You  bet  your  life  I  did.'  " 

After  his  five  years  with  the  Chicago  base-ball  team, 
Sunday  played  upon  the  Pittsburgh  and  the  Philadelphia 
teams,  his  prestige  so  growing  with  the  years  that  after  he 
had  been  eight  years  in  base  ball,  he  declined  a  contract 
at  five  himdred  doUars  a  month,  in  order  to  enter  Christian 
work. 

For  most  of  his  base-ball  career  Sunday  was  an  out- 
and-out  Christian.  He  had  been  converted  in  1887,  after 
four  years  of  membership  on  the  Chicago  team.  He  had 
worked  at  his  religion;  his  team  mates  knew  his  Christianity 
for  the  real  thing.  On  Sundays,  because  of  his  eminence  as 
a  base-ball  player,  he  was  in  great  demand  for  Y.  M.  C.  A. 


Copyright  by  Ooodwin  db  Co.,  S-  Y. 

BfUJt  SvNSAT  IN  National  LBAatna  UNiroBii. 


A   BASE-BALL  "STAR"  37 

talks.  The  sporting  papers  all  alluded  frequently  to  his 
religious  interests  and  activities.  Because  of  his  Christian 
scruples  he  refused  to  play  base  ball  on  Sunday.  During 
the  four  years  of  his  experience  as  a  Christian  member  of 
the  base-ball  profession  it  might  have  been  clear  to  anybody 
who  cared  to  study  the  situation  carefully  that  the  young 
man's  interest  in  reUgion  was  steadily  deepening  and  that 
he  was  headed  toward  some  form  of  avowedly  Christian 
service. 

"I  had  a  three-year  contract  with  Philadelphia.  I 
said  to  God,  'Now  if  you  want  me  to  quit  playing  ball  and 
go  into  evangelistic  work,  then  you  get  me  my  release,' 
and  so  I  left  it  with  God  to  get  my  release  before  the  25th 
day  of  March  and  would  take  that  as  an  evidence  that 
he  wanted  me  to  quit  playing  ball. 

"On  the  17th  day  of  March,  St.  Patrick's  day— I  shall 
never  forget  it — I  was  leading  a  meeting  and  received  a 
letter  from  Colonel  Rogers,  president  of  the  Philadelphia 
club,  stating  I  could  have  my  release. 

"In  came  Jim  Hart,  of  the  Cincinnati  team,  and  up  on 
the  platform  and  pulled  out  a  contract  for  $3,500.  A 
player  only  plays  seven  months,  and  he  threw  the  check 
down  for  $500,  the  first  month's  salary  in  advance.  He 
said,  'Bill,  sign  up!'  But  I  said,  'No!'  I  told  him  that  I 
told  God  if  he  wanted  me  to  quit  playing  ball  to  get  my 
release  before  the  25th  day  of  March  and  I  would  quit. 

"There  I  was  up  against  it.  I  went  around  to  some  of 
my  friends  and  some  said,  'Take  it!'  Others  said,  'Stick 
to  your  promise.'  I  asked  my  father-in-law  about  it,  and 
he  said,  'You  are  a  blank  fool  if  you  don't  take  it.'  I  went 
home  and  went  to  bed,  but  could  not  sleep,  and  prayed  that 
night  until  five  o'clock,  when  I  seemed  to  get  the  thing 
straight  and  said,  'No,  sir,  I  will  not  do  it.' 

"I  went  to  work  for  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  had  a  very 
hard  time  of  it.  It  was  during  those  hard  times  that  I 
hardly  had  enough  to  pay  my  house  rent,  but  I  stuck  to 
my  promise." 


38  A   BASE-BALL  *'STAR" 

It  was  in  March  of  1891  that  Sunday  made  the  decision 
which  marked  the  parting  of  the  ways  for  him.  He  aban- 
doned base  ball  forever  as  a  profession,  although  not  as  an 
interest,  and  entered  upon  definite  religious  work.  He 
accepted  a  position  in  the  Chicago  Y.  M.  C.  A.  as  a  subordi- 
nate secretary  at  $83.33  per  month — and  sometimes  this 
was  six  months  overdue. 

The  stuff  of  which  the  young  man's  moral  character 
was  made  is  revealed  by  the  fact  that  he  deUberately  rejected 
a  $500-a-month  base-ball  contract  in  order  to  serve  Christ 
at  a  personal  sacrifice.  This  incident  reveals  the  real 
temper  of  Sunday,  and  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  when  discus- 
sion is  raised  concerning  the  large  offerings  which  are  made 
to  him  now  in  his  successful  evangehstic  work.  That  act 
was  not  the  deed  of  a  money-loving  man.  If  it  does  not 
spell  consecration,  it  is  difficult  to  define  what  it  does  mean. 

Doubtless  there  were  many  who  thought  this  ending 
of  a  conspicuous  base-ball  career  an  anti-climax,  even  as 
the  flight  of  Moses  into  the  wilderness  of  Sinai  apparently 
spelled  defeat.  Out  of  such  defeats  and  sacrifices  as  these 
grow  the  victories  that  best  serve  the  world  and  most  honor 
God. 


CHAPTER  IV 
A  Curbstone  Recruit 

You've  got  to  sign  your  own  Declaration  of  Independence  before  you  can 
celebrate  your  Fourth  of  July  victory. — Billy  Sunday. 

NOBODY  this  side  of  heaven  can  tell  to  whom  the 
credit  belongs  for  any  great  hfe  or  great  work. 
But  we  may  be  reasonably  sure  that  the  unsung 
and  unknown  women  of  the  earth  have  a  large  part  in  every 
achievement  worth  while. 

Mrs.  Clark,  saintly  wife  of  Colonel  Clark,  the  devoted 
founder  of  the  Pacific  Garden  Rescue  Mission  in  Chicago,  is 
one  of  that  host  of  women  who,  Uke  the  few  who  followed 
Jesus  in  his  earthly  ministry,  have  served  in  lowly,  incon- 
spicuous ways,  doing  small  tasks  from  a  great  love.  Night 
after  night,  with  a  consecration  which  never  flagged,  she 
labored  in  the  gospel  for  a  motley  crowd  of  men  and 
women,  mostly  society's  flotsam  and  jetsam,  many  of 
whom  found  this  hospitable  building  the  last  fort  this  side 
of  destruction. 

A  single  visit  to  a  down-town  rescue  mission  is  romantic, 
picturesque  and  somewhat  of  an  adventure — a  sort  of 
sanctified  slumming  trip.  Far  different  is  it  to  spend  night 
after  night,  regardless  of  weather  or  personal  feelings,  in 
coming  to  close  grips  with  sin-sodden  men  and  women, 
many  of  them  the  devil's  refuse.  A  sickening  share  of  the 
number  are  merely  seeking  shelter  or  lodging  or  food:  sin's 
wages  are  not  sufficient  to  five  upon,  and  they  turn  to  the 
mercy  of  Christianity  for  succor.  Never  to  be  cast  down  by 
unworthiness  or  ingratitude,  to  keep  a  heart  of  hope  in 
face  of  successive  failures,  and  to  rejoice  with  a  shepherd's 
joy  over  the  one  rescued — this  is  the  spirit  of  the  consecrated 
rescue-mission  worker. 

Such  a  woman  was  Mrs.  Clark,  the  spiritual  mother  to  a 

(39) 


40  A  CURBSTONE  RECRUIT 

multitude  of  redeemed  men.  Of  all  the  trophies  which  she 
has  laid  at  the  feet  of  her  Lord,  the  redemption  of  Billy 
Sunday  seems  to  hmnan  eyes  the  brightest.  For  it  was  this 
woman  who  persuaded  him  to  accept  Christ  as  his  Saviour: 
he  whose  hand  has  led  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  miUion  persons 
to  the  foot  of  the  Cross  was  himself  led  thither  by  this  saintly 
woman. 

When  we  contemplate  the  relation  of  that  one  humble 
rescue  mission  in  Chicago,  the  monument  of  a  business 
man's  consecration  to  Christ,  to  the  scores  of  Simday  Taber- 
nacles over  the  land;  and  when  we  connect  the  streams  of 
penitents  on  the  "sawdust  trail"  with  that  one  yoimg  man 
of  twenty-five  going  forward  up  the  aisle  of  the  rude  mission 
room,  we  reahze  afresh  that  God  uses  many  workers  to 
carry  on  his  one  work;  and  that  though  Paul  may  plant  and 
ApoUos  water,  it  is  God  alone  who  giveth  the  increase. 

It  was  one  evening  in  the  fall  of  1887  that  Sunday,  with 
five  of  his  base-ball  team  mates,  sat  on  the  curbstone  of 
Van  Buren  Street  and  listened  to  the  music  and  testimonies 
of  a  band  of  workers  from  the  Pacific  Garden  Rescue 
Mission.  The  deeps  of  sentiment  inherited  from  a  Christian 
mother,  and  the  memories  of  a  Christian  home,  were  stirred 
in  the  breast  of  one  of  the  men;  and  Sunday  accepted  the 
invitation  of  a  worker  to  visit  the  mission.  Moved  by  the 
vital  testimonies  which  he  heard,  he  went  again  and  again; 
and  at  length,  after  conversation  and  prayer  with  Mrs. 
Clark,  he  made  the  great  decision  which  conunitted  him  to 
the  Christian  life. 

Sunday's  own  story  of  his  conversion  is  one  of  the  most 
thrilling  of  all  the  evangeUst's  messages.  It  is  a  human 
doctunent,  a  leaf  in  that  great  book  of  Christian  evidences 
which  God  is  still  writing  day  by  day. 

"Twenty-seven  years  ago  I  walked  down  a  street  in 
Chicago  in  company  with  some  ball  players  who  were  famous 
in  this  world — some  of  them  are  dead  now — and  we  went 
into  a  saloon.  It  was  Simday  afternoon  and  we  got  tanked 
up  and  then  went  and  sat  down  on  a  comer.    I  never  go  by 


A  CURBSTONE  RECRUIT  41 

that  street  without  thankmg  God  for  saving  me.  It  was  a 
vacant  lot  at  that  time.  We  sat  down  on  a  curbing.  Across 
the  street  a  company  of  men  and  women  were  playing  on 
instruments — thorns,  flutes  and  slide  trombones — and  the 
others  were  singing  the  gospel  hymns  that  I  used  to  heai* 
my  mother  sing  back  in  the  log  cabin  in  Iowa  and  back  in 
the  old  church  where  I  used  to  go  to  Sunday  school. 

"And  God  painted  on  the  canvas  of  my  recollection 
and  memory  a  vivid  picture  of  the  scenes  of  other  days  and 
other  faces. 

"Many  have  long  since  turned  to  dust.  I  sobbed  and 
sobbed  and  a  young  man  stepped  out  and  said,  'We  are 
going  down  to  the  Pacific  Garden  Mission.  Won't  you  come 
down  to  the  mission?  I  am  sure  you  will  enjoy  it.  You 
can  hear  drunkards  tell  how  they  have  been  saved  and  girls 
tell  how  they  have  been  saved  from  the  red-light  district.' 

"I  arose  and  said  to  the  boys, ' I'm  through.  I  am  going 
to  Jesus  Christ.  We've  come  to  the  parting  of  the  ways,' 
and  I  turned  my  back  on  them.  Some  of  them  laughed  and 
some  of  them  mocked  me;  one  of  them  gave  me  encourage- 
ment; others  never  said  a  word. 

'Twenty-seven  years  ago  I  turned  and  left  that  little 
group  on  the  comer  of  State  and  Madison  Streets  and  walked 
to  the  Uttle  mission  and  fell  on  my  knees  and  staggered  out 
of  sin  and  into  the  arms  of  the  Saviour. 

"The  next  day  I  had  to  get  out  to  the  ball  park  and 
practice.  Every  morning  at  ten  o'clock  we  had  to  be  out 
there.  I  never  slept  that  night.  I  was  afraid  of  the  horse- 
laugh that  gang  would  give  me  because  I  had  taken  my  stand 
for  Jesus  Christ. 

"I  walked  down  to  the  old  ball  grounds.  I  will  never 
forget  it.  I  slipped  my  key  into  the  wicket  gate  and  the 
first  man  to  meet  me  after  I  got  inside  was  Mike  Kelly. 

"Up  came  Mike  Kelly;  he  said,  'Bill,  I'm  proud  of 
you!  Religion  is  not  my  long  suit,  but  I'll  help  you  all  I 
can.'  Up  came  Anson,  the  best  ball  player  that  ever  played 
the  game;    Pfeflfer,   Clarkson,  Flint,  Jimmy  McCormick, 


42 


A  CURBSTONE  RECRUIT 


Bums,  Williamson  and  Dalrymple.  There  wasn't  a  fellow 
in  that  gang  who  knocked;  every  fellow  had  a  word  of 
encouragement  for  me. 

"Mike  Kelly  was  sold  to  Boston  for  $10,000.  Mike  got 
half  of  the  purchase  price.  He  came  up  to  me  and  showed 
me  a  check  for  $5,000.  John  L.  Sullivan,  the  champion 
fighter,  went  around  with  a  subscription  paper  and  the  boys 
raised  over  $12,000  to  buy  Mike  a  house. 

"They  gave  Mike  a  deed  to  the  house  and  they  had 
$1,500  left  and  gave  him  a  certificate  of  deposit  for  that. 

"His  salary  for 
playing  with  Boston 
was  $4,700  a  year. 
At  the  end  of  that 
season  Mike  had 
spent  the  $5,000  pur- 
chase price  and  the 
$4,700  he  received 
as  salary  and  the 
$1,500  they  gave 
him  and  had  a 
mortgage  on  the 
house.  And  when 
he  died  in  Pennsyl- 
vania they  went 
around  with  a  subscription  to  get  money  enough  to  put 
him  in  the  ground,  and  each  club,  twelve  in  all,  in  the  two 
leagues  gave  a  month  a  year  to  his  wife.  Mike  sat  here 
on  the  corner  with  me  twenty-seven  years  ago,  when  I  said, 
'Good-bye,  boys,  I'm  going  to  Jesus  Christ.' 

"A.  G.  Spalding  signed  up  a  team  to  go  around  the 
world.  I  was  the  second  he  asked  to  sign  a  contract  and 
Captain  Anson  was  the  first.  I  was  sliding  to  second  base 
one  day.  I  always  sHd  head  first,  and  hit  a  stone  and  cut 
a  ligament  loose  in  my  knee. 

"I  got  Dr.  Magruder,  who  attended  Garfield  when  he 
was  shot,  and  he  said: 


'Bill,  I'm  Proud  of  You  I" 


A  CURBSTONE  RECRUIT  43 

"  'William,  if  you  don't  go  on  that  trip  I  will  give  you 
a  good  leg.'  I  obeyed  and  have  as  good  a  leg  today  as  I 
ever  had.  They  offered  to  wait  for  me  at  Honolulu  and 
Australia.  Spalding  said,  'Meet  us  in  England,  and  play 
with  us  through  England,  Scotland  and  Wales.'    I  didn't  go. 

"Ed  Williamson,  our  old  short-stop,  a  fellow  weighing 
225  pounds,  was  the  most  active  big  man  you  ever  saw. 
He  went  with  them,  and  while  they  were  on  the  ship  crossing 
the  English  channel  a  storm  arose  and  the  captain  thought 
the  ship  would  go  down.  WiUiamson  tied  two  life-preservers 
on  himself  and  one  on  his  wife  and  dropped  on  his  knees 
and  prayed  and  promised  God  to  be  true.  God  spoke  and 
the  waves  were  stilled.  They  came  back  to  the  United 
States  and  Ed  came  back  to  Chicago  and  started  a  saloon 
on  Dearborn  Street.  I  would  go  through  there  giving 
tickets  for  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  meetings  and  would  talk  with 
them  and  he  would  cry  like  a  baby. 

*'I  would  get  down  and  pray  for  him,  and  would  talk 
with  him.  When  he  died  they  put  him  on  the  table  and 
cut  him  open  and  took  out  his  liver  and  it  was  so  big  it  would 
not  go  in  a  candy  bucket.  Kidneys  had  shriveled  until 
they  were  like  two  stones. 

''Ed  WiUiamson  sat  there  on  the  street  comer  with  me, 
di-unk,  twenty-seven  years  ago  when  I  said, '  Good-bye,  I'm 
going  to  Jesus  Christ.' 

"Frank  Flint,  our  old  catcher,  who  caught  for  nineteen 
years,  drew  $3,200  a  year  on  an  average.  He  caught  before 
they  had  chest  protectors,  masks  and  gloves.  He  caught 
bare-handed.  Every  bone  in  the  ball  of  his  hand  was  broken. 
You  never  saw  such  a  hand  as  Frank  had.  Every  bone  in 
his  face  was  broken,  and  his  nose  and  cheek  bones,  and  the 
shoulder  and  ribs  had  all  been  broken.  He  got  to  drinking, 
his  home  was  broken  up  and  he  went  to  the  dogs. 

"I've  seen  old  Frank  Flint  sleeping  on  a  table  in  a 
stale  beer  joint  and  I've  turned  my  pockets  inside  out  and 
said,  'You're  welcome  to  it,  old  pal.'  He  drank  on  and  on, 
and  one  day  in  winter  he  staggered  out  of  a  stale  beer  joint 


44  A  CURBSTONE  RECRUIT 

and  stood  on  a  comer,  and  was  seized  with  a  fit  of  coughing. 
The  blood  streamed  out  of  his  nose,  mouth  and  eyes.  Down 
the  street  came  a  wealthy  woman.  She  took  one  look  and 
said,  '  My  God,  is  it  you,  Frank?'  and  his  wife  came  up  and 
kissed  him. 

"She  called  two  policemen  and  a  cab  and  started  with 
him  to  her  boarding  house.  They  broke  all  speed  regula- 
tions. She  called  five  of  the  best  physicians  and  they 
listened  to  the  beating  of  his  heart,  one,  two,  three,  four, 
five,  six,  seven,  eight,  nine,  ten,  eleven,  twelve,  and  the 
doctors  said,  'He  will  be  dead  in  about  four  hours.'  She 
told  them  to  tell  him  what  they  had  told  her.  She  said, 
'  Frank,  the  end  is  near,'  and  he  said, '  Send  for  Bill. ' 

"They  telephoned  me  and  I  came.  He  said,  'There's 
nothing  in  the  Ufe  of  years  ago  I  care  for  now.  I  can  hear 
the  bleachers  cheer  when  I  make  a  hit  that  wins  the  game. 
But  there  is  nothing  that  can  help  me  out  now;  and  if  the 
umpire  calls  me  out  now,  won't  you  say  a  few  words  over  me. 
Bill?'  He  struggled  as  he  had  years  ago  on  the  diamond, 
when  he  tried  to  reach  home,  but  the  great  Umpire  of  the 
universe  yelled,  'You're  out!'  and  waved  him  to  the  club 
house,  and  the  great  gladiator  of  the  diamond  was  no  more. 

"He  sat  on  the  street  corner  with  me,  drunk,  twenty- 
seven  years  ago  in  Chicago,  when  I  said,  '  Good-bye,  boys, 
I'm  through.' 

"Did  they  win  the  game  of  life  or  did  Bill?'* 


"FiBST — Abe  You  Kindly  Disposed  Towabd  Mb?" 


CHAPTER  V 
Playing  the  New  Game 

It  is  not  necessary  to  be  in  a  big  place  to  do  big  things. — BiiiLT  Sunday. 

IF  Billy  Sunday  had  not  been  an  athlete  he  would  not 
today  be  the  physical  marvel  in  the  pulpit  that  he  is; 
if  he  had  not  been  reared  in  the  ranks  of  the  plain  people 
he  would  not  have  possessed  the  vocabulary  and  insight  into 
life  which  are  essential  parts  of  his  equipment;  if  he  had 
not  served  a  long  apprenticeship  to  toil  he  would  not  display 
his  present  pitiless  industry;  if  he  had  not  been  a  cog  in  the 
machinery  of  organized  base  ball,  with  wide  travel  and  much 
experience  of  men,  he  would  not  be  able  to  perfect  the  amaz- 
ing organization  of  Sunday  evangeUstic  campaigns;  if  he 
had  not  been  a  member  and  elder  of  a  Presbyterian  church 
he  could  not  have  resisted  the  rehgious  vagaries  which  lead 
so  many  evangeUsts  and  immature  Christian  workers  astray; 
if  he  had  not  been  trained  in  three  years  of  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
service  he  would  not  today  be  the  flaming  and  insistent 
protagonist  of  personal  work  that  he  now  is;  if  he  had  not 
been  converted  definitely  and  consciously  and  quickly  in 
a  rescue  mission  he  could  not  now  preach  his  gospel  of 
immediate  conversion. 

All  of  which  is  but  another  way  of  saying  that  Sunday 
was  trained  in  God's  school.  God  prepared  the  man  for 
the  work  he  was  preparing  for  him.  Only  by  such  unconamon 
training  could  this  unique  messenger  of  the  gospel  be  pro- 
duced. A  college  course  doubtless  would  have  submerged 
Sunday  iuto  the  level  of  the  commonplace.  A  theological 
seminary  would  have  denatured  him.  Evidently  Sunday 
has  learned  the  lesson  of  the  value  of  individuality;  he  prizes 
it,  preaches  about  it,  and  practices  it.  He  probably  does  not 
know  what  "sui  generis"  means,  but  he  is  it.  Over  and 
over  again  he  urges  that  instead  of  railing  at  what  we  have 

C45) 


46  PLAYING  A  NEW  GAME 

not  enjoyed,  we  should  magnify  what  we  ah-eady  possess. 
The  shepherd's  rod  of  Moses,  rightly  wielded,  may  be  might- 
ier than  a  king's  scepter. 

As  we  approach  the  development  of  the  unique  work  of 
Billy  Sunday,  which  is  without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of 
evangelism,  we  must  reckon  with  those  forces  which 
developed  his  personality  and  trace  the  steps  which  led  him 
into  his  present  imperial  activity.  For  he  has  gone  forward 
a  step  at  a  time. 

He  followed  the  wise  rule  of  the  rescue  mission,  that 
the  saved  should  say  so.  At  the  very  beginning  he  began 
to  bear  testimony  to  his  new  faith.  Wherever  opportunity 
offered  he  spoke  a  good  word  for  Jesus  Christ.  In  many 
towns  and  cities  his  testimony  was  heard  in  those  early 
days;  and  there  was  not  a  follower  of  the  base-ball  game  who 
did  not  know  that  Billy  Sunday  was  a  Christian. 

The  convert  who  does  not  join  a  church  is  likely  soon 
to  be  in  a  bad  way;  so  Simday  early  united  with  the  Jefferson 
Park  Presbyterian  Church,  Chicago.  He  went  into  reli- 
gious activity  with  all  the  ardor  that  he  displayed  on  the 
base-ball  field.  He  attended  the  Christian  Endeavor 
society,  prayer-meeting  and  the  mid-week  church  service. 
This  is  significant;  for  it  is  usually  the  church  members  who 
are  faithful  at  the  mid-week  prayer-meetings  who  are  the 
vital  force  in  a  congregation. 

Other  rewards  than  spiritual  awaited  Sunday  at  the 
prayer-meeting;  for  there  he  met  Helen  A.  Thompson,  the 
young  woman  who  subsequently  became  his  wife.  Between 
the  meeting  and  the  marriage  altar  there  were  various 
obstacles  to  be  overcome.  Another  suitor  was  in  the  way, 
and  besides.  Miss  Thompson's  father  did  not  take  kindly 
to  the  idea  of  a  professional  base-ball  player  as  a  possible 
son-in-law,  for  he  had  old-fashioned  Scotch  notions  of  things. 
''Love  conquers  all,"  and  in  September,  1888,  the  young 
couple  were  married,  taking  their  wedding  trip  by  going 
on  circuit  with  the  base-ball  team. 

Mrs.  Sunday's  influence  upon  her  husband  has  been 


PLAYING  A  NEW  GAME  47 

extraordinary.  It  is  a  factor  to  be  largely  considered  in 
any  estimate  of  the  man.  He  is  a  devoted  husband,  of  the 
American  type,  and  with  his  ardent  loyalty  to  his  wife  has 
complete  confidence  in  her  judgment.  She  is  his  man  of 
affairs.  Her  Scotch  heritage  has  endowed  her  with  the 
prudent  qualities  of  that  race,  and  she  is  the  business  man- 
ager of  Mr.  Sunday's  campaigns.  She  it  is  who  holds  her 
generous,  careless  husband  down  to  a  reahzation  of  the 
practicalities  of  life. 

He  makes  no  important  decisions  without  consulting 
her,  and  she  travels  with  him  nearly  all  of  the  time,  attend- 
ing his  meetings  and  watching  over  his  work  and  his  personal 
well-being  like  a  mother.  In  addition  Mrs.  Simday  does 
yeoman  service  in  the  evangelistic  campaigns. 

The  helplessness  of  the  evangelist  without  his  wife 
is  almost  ludicrous:  he  disUkes  to  settle  any  question, 
whether  it  be  an  acceptance  of  an  invitation  from  a  city  or 
the  employment  of  an  additional  worker,  without  Mrs. 
Sunday's  counsel.  Frequently  he  turns  vexed  problems 
over  to  her,  and  abides  implicitly  by  her  decision,  without 
looking  into  the  matter  himself  at  all. 

Four  children — Helen,  George,  William  and  Paul — 
have  been  bom  to  the  Sundays,  two  of  whom  are  themselves 
married.  The  modest  Sunday  home  is  in  Winona  Lake, 
Indiana.  When  Mrs.  Sunday  is  absent  with  her  husband, 
the  two  younger  children  are  left  in  the  care  of  a  trusted 
helper.  The  evangelist  himself  is  home  for  only  a  short 
period  each  summer. 

Mrs.  Sunday  was  the  deciding  factor  in  determining 
her  husband  to  abandon  base  ball  for  distinctively  reUgious 
work.  A  woman  of  real  Scotch  piety,  in  the  time  of  decision 
she  chose  the  better  part.  Her  husband  had  been  address- 
ing Y.  M.  C.  A.  meetings,  Sunday-schools  and  Christian 
Endeavor  societies.  He  was  undeniably  a  poor  speaker. 
No  prophet  could  have  foreseen  the  present  master  of  plat- 
form art  in  the  stammering,  stumbling  young  man  whose 
only  excuse  for  addressing  public  meetings  was  the  eagerness 


48  PLAYING  A  NEW  GAME 

of  men  to  hear  the  celebrated  base-ball  player's  story.  His 
speech  was  merely  his  testimony,  such  as  is  required  of  all 
mission  converts. 

If  Simday  could  not  talk  well  on  his  feet  he  could  handle 
individual  men.  His  aptness  in  dealing  with  men  led  the 
Chicago  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  to  offer  him 
an  assistant  secretaryship  in  the  department  of  religious 
work.  It  is  significant  that  the  base-ball  player  went  into 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  not  as  a  physical  director  but  in  the  distinc 
lively  spiritual  sphere.  He  refused  an  invitation  to  become 
physical  director;  for  his  rehgious  zeal  from  the  first  out- 
shone his  physical  prowess. 

Those  three  years  of  work  in  the  Chicago  Association 
bulk  large  in  the  development  of  the  evangelist.  They 
were  not  all  spent  in  dealing  with  the  unconverted,  by 
any  means.  Sunday's  tasks  included  the  securing  of 
speakers  for  noon-day  prayer-meetings,  the  conducting  of 
office  routine,  the  raising  of  money,  the  distribution  of 
literature,  the  visiting  of  saloons  and  other  places  to  which 
invitations  should  be  carried,  and  the  following  up  of  per- 
sons who  had  displayed  an  interest  in  the  meetings.  Much 
of  it  was  sanctified  drudgery:  but  it  was  all  drill  for  destiny. 
The  young  man  saw  at  close  range  and  with  particular 
detail  what  sin  could  do  to  men;  and  he  also  learned  the 
power  of  the  Gospel  to  make  sinners  over. 

The  evangelist  often  alludes  to  those  days  of  personal 
work  in  Chicago.  Such  stories  as  the  following  have  been 
heard  by  thousands. 

A  Father  Disowned 

"While  I  was  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  Chicago  I  was  stand- 
ing on  the  comer  one  night  and  a  man  came  along  with  his 
toes  sticking  out  and  a  ragged  suit  on  and  a  slouch  hat  and 
asked  me  for  a  dime  to  get  something  to  eat.  I  told  him  I 
wouldn't  give  him  a  dime  because  he  would  go  and  get  a 
drink.  He  said,  'You  wouldn't  let  me  starve,  would  you?' 
I  told  him  no,  but  that  I  wouldn't  give  him  the  money.    1 


PLAYING  A  NEW  GAME  49 

asked  him  to  come  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  with  me  and  stay  until 
after  the  meeting  and  I  would  take  him  out  and  get  him  a 
good  supper  and  a  bed.  He  wanted  me  to  do  it  right  away 
before  going  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  but  I  told  him  that  I  was 
working  for  someone  until  ten  o'clock.  So  he  came  up  to 
the  meeting  and  stayed  through  the  meeting  and  was  very 
much  interested.  I  saw  that  he  used  excellent  language 
and  questioned  him  and  found  that  he  was  a  man  who  had 
been  Adjutant  General  of  one  of  the  Central  States  and  had 
at  one  time  been  the  editor  of  two  of  the  biggest  newspapers. 

*'I  went  with  him  after  the  meeting  and  got  him  a 
supper  and  a  bed  and  went  to  some  friends  and  we  got  his 
clothes.  I  asked  him  if  he  had  any  relatives  and  he  said  he 
had  one  son  who  was  a  bank  cashier  but  that  he  had  disowned 
him  and  his  picture  was  taken  from  the  family  album  and 
his  name  was  never  spoken  in  the  house,  all  because  he  was 
now  down  and  out,  on  account  of  booze. 

*'I  wrote  to  the  boy  and  said,  'I've  found  your  father. 
Send  me  some  money  to  help  him.' 

"He  wrote  back  and  said  for  me  never  to  mention  his 
father's  name  to  him  again,  that  it  wasn't  ever  spoken 
aroimd  the  house  and  that  his  father  was  forgotten. 

"I  replied:  'You  miserable,  low-down  wretch.  You 
can't  disown  your  father  and  refuse  to  help  him  because  he 
is  down  and  out.  Send  me  some  money  or  I  will  pubUsh 
the  story  in  all  of  the  papers.'  He  sent  me  five  dollars  and 
that's  all  I  ever  got  from  him.  I  took  care  of  the  old  man 
all  winter  and  in  the  spring  I  went  to  a  relief  society  in 
Chicago  and  got  him  a  ticket  to  his  home  and  put  him  on  the 
train  and  that  was  the  last  I  ever  saw  of  him." 

Redeeming  a  Son 

"I  stood  on  the  street  one  Sunday  night  giving  out 
tickets  inviting  men  to  the  men's  meeting  in  Farwell  Hall. 
Along  came  a  young  fellow,  I  should  judge  he  was  thirty, 
who  looked  prematurely  old,  and  he  said,  'Pard,  will  you 
give  me  a  dime?' 


50  PLAYING  A  NEW  GAME 

''Isaid, 'No,  sir.' 

"*I  want  to  get  somethin'  to  eat.' 

"I  said,  'You  look  to  me  as  though  you  were  a  booze- 
fighter.  ' 

"'lam.' 

"  'I'll  not  give  you  money,  but  I'll  get  your  supper.' 

"He  said,  'Come  on.     I  haven't  eaten  for  two  days.' 

"'My  time  is  not  my  own  until  ten  o'clock.  You  go 
upstairs  until  then  and  I'll  buy  you  a  good  supper  and  get 
you  a  good,  warm,  clean  bed  in  which  to  sleep,  but  I'll  not 
give  you  the  money. ' 

"He  said,  'Thank  you,  I'll  go.'  He  stayed  for  the 
meeting.  I  saw  he  was  moved,  and  after  the  meeting  I 
stood  by  his  side.  He  wept  and  I  talked  to  him  about 
Jesus  Christ,  and  he  told  me  this  story: 

"There  were  three  boys  in  the  family.  They  lived  in 
Boston.  The  father  died,  the  will  was  probated,  he  was 
given  his  portion,  took  it,  started  out  drinking  and  gambUng. 
At  last  he  reached  Denver,  his  money  was  gone,  and  he  got 
a  position  as  fireman  in  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  switch- 
yards. His  mother  kept  writing  to  him,  but  he  told  me 
that  he  never  read  the  letters.  He  said  that  when  he  saw 
the  postmark  and  the  writing  he  threw  the  letter  into  the 
firebox,  but  one  day,  he  couldn't  tell  why,  he  opened  the 
letter  and  it  read: 

"  'Dear :     I  haven't  heard  from  you  directly,  but 

I  am  sure  that  you  must  need  a  mother's  care  in  the  far-off 
West,  and  unless  you  answer  this  in  a  reasonable  time  I'm 
going  to  Denver  to  see  you.'  And  she  went  on  pleading, 
as  only  a  mother  could,  and  closed  it :  '  Yoiu*  loving  mother. ' 

"He  said,  'I  threw  the  letter  in  the  fire  and  paid  no  more 
heed  to  it.  One  day  about  two  weeks  later  I  saw  a  woman 
coming  down  the  track  and  I  said  to  the  engineer:  "That 
looks  like  my  mother."  She  drew  near,  and  I  said:  "Yes, 
that's  mother."     What  do  you  think  I  did?' 

"I  said,  'Why  you  climbed  out  of  your  engine,  kissed 
her  and  asked  God  to  forgive  you.' 


PLAYING  A  NEW  GAME 


51 


"He  said,  *I  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  I  was  so  low- 
down,  I  wouldn't  even  speak  to  my  mother.  She  followed 
me  up  and  down  the  switchyard  and  even  followed  me  to  my 
boarding  house.  I  went  upstairs,  changed  my  clothes, 
came  down,  and  she  said,  "Frank,  stay  and  talk  with  me." 
I  pushed  by  her  and  went  out  and  spent  the  night  in  sin.  I 
came  back  in  the  morning,  changed  my  clothes  and  went 
to  work.  For  four  days  she  followed  me  up  and  down  the 
switchyards  and  then  she  said,  "Frank,  you  have  broken  my 
heart,  and  I  am  going 
away  tomorrow." 

"'I  happened 
to  be  near  the  depot 
with  the  engine  when 
she  got  on  the  train 
and  she  raised  the 
window  and  said, 
"Frank,  kiss  me 
good-bye."  I  stood 
talking  with  some  of 
my  drinking  and 
gambling  friends  and 
one  man  said, 
"Frank  Adsitt,  you 
are  a  fool  to  treat 
your  mother  like 
that.     Kiss    her 

good-bye."  I  jerked  from  him  and  turned  back, 
heard  the  conductor  call  "All  aboard."  I  heard  the  bell 
on  the  engine  ring  and  the  train  started  out,  and  I  heard 
my  mother  cry,  "Oh,  Frank,  if  you  won't  kiss  me  good-bye, 
for  God's  sake  turn  and  look  at  me!" 

"'Mr.  Sunday,  when  the  train  on  the  Burlington  Rail- 
road pulled  out  of  Denver,  I  stood  with  my  back  to  my 
mother.  That's  been  nine  years  ago  and  I  have  never  seen 
nor  heard  from  her.' 

"I  led  him  to  Jesus.     I  got  him  a  position  in  the  old 


"Frank,  Kiss  Me  Good-bye! 


I 


52  PLAYING  A  NEW  GAME 

Exposition  building  on  the  lake  front.  He  gave  me  the 
money  he  didn't  need  for  board  and  washing.  I  kept  his 
money  for  months.  He  came  to  me  one  day  and  asked 
for  it. 

"He  used  to  come  to  the  noon  meetings  every  day. 
Finally  I  missed  him,  and  I  didn't  see  him  again  imtil  in 
Jime,  1893,  during  the  World's  Fair  he  walked  into  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.    I  said,  'Why,  Frank,  how  do  you  do?' 

"He  said,  'How  do  you  know  me?' 

"I  said,  *I  have  never  forgotten  you;  how  is  your 
mother?' 

"He  smiled,  then  his  face  quickly  changed  to  sadness, 
and  he  said,  'She  is  across  the  street  in  the  Brevoort  House. 
1  am  taking  her  to  California  to  fill  her  last  days  with 
sunshine. ' 

"Three  months  later,  out  in  Pasadena,  she  called  him 
to  her  bedside,  drew  him  down,  kissed  him,  and  said,  '  Good- 
bye; I  can  die  happy  because  I  know  my  boy  is  a  Christian. ' " 

The  Gambler 

"I  have  reached  down  into  the  slime,  and  have  been 
privileged  to  help  tens  of  thousands  out  of  the  mire  of  sin — 
and  I  believe  that  most  of  them  will  be  saved,  too.  I've 
helped  men  in  all  walks  of  life.  When  I  was  in  Chicago 
I  helped  a  man  and  got  him  a  position,  and  so  was  able  to 
restore  him  to  his  wife  and  children.  One  night  a  fellow 
came  to  me  and  told  me  that  the  man  was  playing  faro 
bank  down  on  Clark  Street.  I  said:  'Why  that  can 
hardly  be — ^I  took  dinner  with  him  only  a  few  hom-s  ago.* 

"But  my  informant  had  told  me  the  truth,  so  I  put  on 
my  coat  and  went  down  LaSalle  Street  and  past  the  New 
York  Life  Building  and  along  up  the  stairway  to  the  gam- 
bling room.  I  went  past  the  big  doorkeeper,  and  I  found  a 
lot  of  men  in  there,  playing  keno  and  faro  bank  and  roulette 
and  stud  and  draw  poker.  I  saw  my  man  there,  just  play- 
ing a  hand.  In  a  moment  he  walked  over  to  the  bar  and 
ordered  a  Rhine  wine  and  seltzer. 


PLAYING  A  NEW  GAME  53 

"I  walked  over  and  touched  him  on  the  shoulder,  ancj 
he  looked  and  turned  pale.  I  said,  'Come  out  of  this. 
Come  with  me.'  He  said,  'Here's  my  money,'  and  pulled 
$144  from  his  pocket  and  handed  it  to  me.  'I  don't  want 
your  money.'  He  refused  at  first,  and  it  was  one  o'clock 
in  the  morning  before  I  got  him  away  from  there.  I  took 
him  home  and  talked  to  him,  then  I  sent  down  into  Ohio 
for  an  old  uncle  of  his,  for  he  had  forged  notes  amounting 
to  $2,000  or  so,  and  we  had  to  get  him  out  of  trouble.  We 
got  him  all  fixed  up  and  we  got  him  a  job  selling  reUef  maps, 
and  he  made  $5,000  a  year. 

"I  didn't  hear  from  him  for  a  long  time;  then  one  day 
Jailor  Whitman  called  me  up  and  told  me  that  Tom  Barrett, 
an  old  ball  player  I  knew  well,  wanted  me  to  come  up  and 
see  a  man  who  had  been  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary.  I 
went  down  to  the  jail  and  the  prisoner  was  my  friend.  I 
asked  him  what  was  the  matter,  and  he  said  that  he  and  some 
other  fellows  had  framed  up  a  plan  to  stick  up  a  jewelry 
store.  He  was  caught  and  the  others  got  away.  He  wouldn't 
snitch,  and  so  he  was  going  down  to  JoUet  on  an  indeter- 
minate sentence  of  from  one  to  fourteen  years.  He  said: 
'You  are  the  only  man  that  will  help  me.    Will  you  do  it?' 

"I  said:  'I  won't  help  you,  I  won't  spend  so  much  as  a 
postage  stamp  on  you  if  you  are  going  to  play  me  dirt 
again!'  He  promised  to  do  better  as  soon  as  he  got  out, 
and  I  wrote  a  letter  to  my  friend,  Andy  Russell,  chairman 
of  the  board  of  pardons.  He  took  up  the  case  and  we  got 
my  friend's  sentence  cut  down  to  a  maximum  of  five  years. 

"Time  passed  again,  and  one  day  he  came  in  dressed 
fit  to  kill.  He  had  on  an  $80  overcoat,  a  $50  suit,  a  $4 
necktie,  a  pair  of  patent  leather  shoes  that  cost  $15,  shirt 
buttons  as  big  as  hickory  nuts  and  diamond  cuff  buttons. 
He  walked  up  to  my  desk  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  pulled  out 
a  roll  of  bills.  There  were  a  lot  ot  them — yellow  fellows. 
I  noticed  that  there  was  one  for  $500.  There  was  over 
$4,500  in  the  roll.  He  said:  'I  won  it  last  night  at  faro 
bank.'     He  asked  me  to  go  out  to  dinner  with  him  and  I 


64  PLAYING  A  NEW  GAME 

went.  We  had  everything  on  the  bill  of  fare,  from  soup  to 
nuts,  and  the  check  was  $7.60  apiece  for  two  suppers.  I've 
never  had  such  a  dinner  since. 

"We  talked  things  over.  He  said  he  was  making 
money  hand  over  fist — that  he  could  make  more  in  a  week 
than  I  could  in  a  year.  I  was  working  at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
for  $83  a  month,  and  then  not  getting  it,  and  base-ball 
managers  were  making  me  tempting  ofifers  of  good  money 
to  go  back  into  the  game  at  $500  to  $1,000  a  month  to 
finish  the  season.  But  I  wouldn't  do  it.  Nobody  called  me 
a  grafter  then.  'Well,'  I  said  to  my  friend,  'old  man, 
you  may  have  more  at  the  end  of  the  year  than  I've  got — 
maybe  I  won't  have  carfare — but  I'll  be  ahead  of  you.  * 

"Where  is  he  now?  Down  at  Joliet,  where  there  is  a 
big  walled  institution  and  where  the  stripes  on  your  clothes 
run  crossways." 

A  Living  Testimony 

"I  had  a  friend  who  was  a  brilliant  young  fellow.  He 
covered  the  Chino-Japanese  war  for  a  New  York  paper. 
He  was  on  his  way  home  when  he  was  shipwrecked,  and 
the  captain  and  he  were  on  an  island  living  on  roots  for 
a  week  and  then  they  signaled  a  steamer  and  got  started 
home.  He  got  word  from  the  New  York  Tribune  and  they 
told  him  to  go  to  Frisco,  so  he  went,  and  they  told  him  to 
come  across  the  arid  country  and  write  up  the  prospects 
of  irrigation.  And  as  he  walked  across  those  plains,  he 
thought  of  how  they  would  blossom  if  they  were  only 
irrigated.  Then  he  thought  of  how  his  life  was  like  that 
desert,  with  nothing  in  it  but  waste. 

"He  got  to  Chicago  and  got  a  job  on  the  Times  and  lost 
it  on  account  of  drimkenness,  and  couldn't  get  another  on 
account  of  having  no  recommendation.  So  he  walked  out 
one  winter  night  and  took  his  reporter's  book,  addressed  it 
to  his  father,  and  wrote  something  like  this:  'I've  made  a 
miserable  failure  of  this  life.  I've  disgraced  you  and  sent 
mother  to  a  premature  grave.     If  you  care  to  look  for  me 


PLAYING  A  NEW  GAME  55 

you'll  find  my  body  in  the  Chicago  River. '  He  tossed  aside 
the  book  and  it  fell  on  the  snow. 

"He  leaped  to  the  rail  of  the  bridge,  but  a  poUceman 
v/ho  had  been  watching  him  sprang  and  caught  him.  He 
begged  him  to  let  him  leap,  but  the  poUceman  wouldn't 
do  it  and  got  his  story  from  him.  Then  the  poUceman  said, 
'Well,  I  don't  know  whether  you're  stringing  me  or  not, 
but  if  half  of  what  you  say  is  true  you  can  make  a  big  thing 
out  of  Ufe.  I'm  not  much  on  reUgion,  but  I'll  show  you  a 
place  where  they  wiU  keep  you,'  and  he  took  him  to  the 
Pacific  Garden  Mission  at  100  East  Van  Buren  Street, 
which  for  13,000  nights  has  had  its  doors  open  every  night. 

''He  went  in  and  sat  down  by  a  bum.  He  read  some 
of  the  mottos,  Uke  'When  did  you  write  to  mother  last?' 
and  they  began  to  work  on  him  and  he  asked  the  bum 
what  graft  they  got  out  of  this.  The  bum  flared  right  up 
and  said  there  was  no  graft,  that  Mrs.  Clark  had  just 
mortgaged  her  home  for  $3,000  to  pay  back  rent.  Then 
he  told  him  he  could  sleep  right  there  and  go  down  in  the 
morning  and  get  something  to  eat  free,  and  if  he  could 
not  land  a  bed  by  next  night  he  could  come  back  to  one  of 
the  benches.  Then  my  friend  got  up  and  told  him  the 
story  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  yoimg  man  went  down  and 
accepted  Christ.  He  was  so  full  of  gold  bromide  cures 
that  he  tingled  when  he  talked  and  he  jingled  when  he 
walked. 

"He  started  out  to  give  his  testimony  and  he  was  a 
marvelous  power.  I  met  him  some  time  later  in  an  elevator 
in  Chicago,  and  he  was  dressed  to  kill  with  a  silk  lid  and  a 
big  diamond  and  the  latest  cut  Prince  Albert,  and  he  said, 
'Bill,  that  was  a  great  day  for  me.  I  started  out  with  not 
enough  clothes  to  make  a  tail  for  a  kite  or  a  pad  for  a  crutch 
and  now  look  at  me.'  He  was  secretary  in  the  firm  of 
Morgan  &  Wright,  and  was  drawing  $175  a  month.  He  is  an 
expert  stenographer.  A  newspaper  in  New  York  had  written 
him  to  take  an  associate  editorship,  but  I  told  him  not  to  do 
it,  to  stay  where  he  was  and  teU  his  story." 


66  PLAYING  A  NEW  GAME 

The  next  class  in  the  University  of  Experience  which 
Sunday  entered  was  that  of  professional  evangelistic  work, 
in  association  with  Rev.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman,  D.D.,  the  well- 
known  Presbjrterian  evangeUst.  This  invitation  came  after 
three  years  of  service  in  the  Chicago  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Not  yet 
to  platform  speaking  as  his  chief  task  was  Sunday  called. 
Far  from  it.  He  was  a  sort  of  general  roustabout  for  the 
evangeUst.  His  duties  were  multifarious.  He  was  advance 
agent,  going  ahead  to  arrange  meetings,  to  organize  choirs, 
to  help  the  local  committee  of  arrangements  with  its  adver- 
tising or  other  preparations,  and,  in  general,  tying  up  all 
loose  ends.  When  tents  were  used  he  would  help  erect  them 
with  his  own  hands;  the  fists  that  so  sturdily  beat  pulpits 
today,  have  often  driven  home  tent  pegs.  Sunday  sold  the 
evangeUst's  song  books  and  sermons  at  the  meetings;  helped 
take  up  the  collection,  and,  when  need  arose,  spoke  from  the 
platform.  The  persons  who  wonder  at  the  amazing  effi- 
ciency for  organization  displayed  by  Sunday  overlook  this 
unique  apprenticeship  to  a  distinguished  evangeUst.  He  is 
a  "practical  man"  in  every  aspect  of  evangeUstic  campaigns, 
from  organizing  a  local  committee  and  building  the  audi- 
torium, to  handling  and  training  the  converts  who  come 
forward. 

The  providence  of  aU  this  is  clear  in  retrospect:  but  as 
for  Simday  himself,  he  was  being  led  by  a  way  that  he  knew 
not. 


CHAPTER  VI 
A  Shut  Door — and  an  Open  One 

Faith  is  the  beginning  of  something  of  which  you  can't  see  the  end  but 
in  which  you  believe. — Billy  Sunday. 

DESTINY'S  door  turns  on  small  hinges.  Almost 
everybody  can  say  out  of  his  own  experience,  "If 
I  had  done  this,  instead  of  that,  the  whole  coiu'se  of 
my  life  would  have  been  changed."  At  many  points  in 
the  career  of  William  A.  Sunday  we  see  what  intrinsically 
small  and  unrelated  incidents  determined  his  future  course 
in  life. 

If  he  had  not  been  sitting  on  that  Chicago  curbstone 
one  evening,  and  if  the  Pacific  Garden  Mission  workers  had 
failed  on  that  one  occasion  alone  to  go  forth  into  the  high- 
ways, Billy  Sunday  might  have  been  only  one  of  the 
multitude  of  forgotten  base-ball  players.  If  he  had  not 
gone  to  prayer-meeting  in  his  new  church  home  he  would 
not  have  met  the  wife  who  has  been  so  largely  a  determin- 
ing factor  in  his  work.  If  he  had  not  joined  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
forces  in  Chicago  he  would  not  have  become  Peter  Bil- 
horn's  friend  and  so  Dr.  Chapman's  assistant. 

And — ^here  we  come  to  a  very  human  story — if  Dr.  J. 
Wilbur  Chapman  had  not  suddenly  decided  to  abandon  the 
evangelistic  field  and  return  to  the  pastorate  of  Bethany 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Philadelphia,  Sunday  would  doubt- 
less still  be  unknown  to  the  world  as  a  great  religious 
leader.  The  story  came  to  me  from  the  lips  of  the 
evangeUst  himself  one  morning.  We  were  discussing  certain 
current  criticisms  of  his  work  and  he  showed  himself 
frankly  bewildered  as  well  as  pained  by  the  hostility  dis- 
played toward  him  on  the  part  of  those  up  to  whom  he 
looked  as  leaders  and  counselors.  Off  the  platform  Sunday 
is  one  of  the  most  childlike  and  guileless  of  men.    He  grew 

(57) 


58        A  SHUT  DOOR— AND  AN  OPEN  ONE 

reminiscent  and  confidential  as  he  said  to  me:  "I  don't 
see  why  they  hammer  me  so.  I  have  just  gone  on,  as  the 
Lord  opened  the  way,  trying  to  do  his  work.  I  had  no  plan 
for  this  sort  of  thing.  It  is  all  the  Lord's  doings.  Just 
look  how  it  all  began,  and  how  wonderfully  the  Lord  has 
cared  for  me. 

"I  had  given  up  my  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work,  and  was  help- 
ing Chapman,  doing  all  sorts  of  jobs — ^putting  up  tents, 
straightening  out  chairs  after  the  meetings  and  occasionally 
speaking.  Then,  all  of  a  sudden,  during  the  holidays  of 
1895-96,  I  had  a  telegram  from  Chapman  saying  that  our 
work  was  all  off,  because  he  had  decided  to  return  to 
Bethany  Church. 

"There  I  was,  out  of  work,  knowing  not  which  way  to 
turn.  I  had  a  wife  and  two  children  to  support.  I  could 
not  go  back  to  base  ball.  I  had  given  up  my  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
position.  I  had  no  money.  What  should  I  do?  I  laid  it 
before  the  Lord,  and  in  a  short  while  there  came  a  telegram 
from  a  little  town  named  Gamer,  out  in  Iowa,  asking  me  to 
come  out  and  conduct  some  meetings.  I  didn't  know  any- 
body out  there,  and  I  don't  know  yet  why  they  ever  asked 
me  to  hold  meetings.     But  I  went. 

"I  only  had  eight  sermons,  so  could  not  run  more  than 
ten  days,  and  that  only  by  taking  Saturdays  off.  That  was 
the  beginning  of  my  independent  work;  but  from  that 
day  to  this  I  have  never  had  to  seek  a  call  to  do  evangeUs- 
tic  work.  I  have  just  gone  along,  entering  the  doors  that 
the  Lord  has  opened  one  after  another.  Now  I  have  about 
a  hundred  sermons  and  invitations  for  more  than  two  years 
in  advance.  I  have  tried  to  be  true  to  the  Lord  and  to  do 
just  what  he  wants  me  to  do." 

That  naive  bit  of  autobiography  reveals  the  real  Billy 
Sunday.  He  has  gone  forward  as  the  doors  have  been 
providentially  opened.  His  career  has  not  been  shrewdly 
planned  by  himself.  Nobody  has  been  more  surprised  at 
his  success  than  he.  Of  him  may  be  recorded  the  hues  that 
are  inscribed  on  Emerson's  tombstone  in  Sleepy  Hollow 
Cemetery,  Concord: 


A  SHUT  DOOR— AND  AN  OPEN  ONE        59 

"The  passive  master  lent  his  hand 
To  the  vaat  Soul  that  o'er  him  planned." 

From  Gamer,  Iowa,  to  Philadelphia,  with  its  most 
eminent  citizens  on  the  committee  of  arrangements,  seems  a 
far  cry ;  but  the  path  is  plainly  one  of  Providence.  Sunday 
has  added  to  his  addresses  gleanings  from  many  sources, 
but  he  has  not  abated  the  simpUcity  of  his  message.  The 
gospel  he  preaches  today  is  that  which  he  heard  in  the  Pacific 
Garden  Rescue  Mission  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago. 

In  childlike  faith,  this  man  of  straight  and  unshaded 
thinking  has  gone  forward  to  whatever  work  has  offered 
itself.  Nobody  knows  better  than  he  that  it  is  by  no  powers 
of  his  own  that  mighty  results  have  been  achieved:  "This 
is  the  Lord's  doing;  it  is  marvelous  in  our  eyes." 

While  the  Sunday  meetings  have  swung  a  wide  orbit 
they  have  centered  in  the  Middle  West.  That  typically 
American  section  of  the  country  was  quick  to  appreciate 
the  evangelist's  character  and  message.  He  was  of  them, 
"bone  of  their  bone,  flesh  of  their  flesh,"  mind  of  their  mind. 

When  news  of  the  tritunphs  of  this  evangelist's  uncon- 
ventionally-phrased gospel  began  to  be  carried  over  the 
country  a  few  years  ago,  the  verdict  of  rehgious  leaders  was, 
"Billy  Sunday  may  do  for  the  Middle  West,  but  the  East 
will  not  stand  him."  Since  then,  again,  to  the  confusion 
of  human  wisdom,  his  most  notable  work  has  been  achieved 
in  the  East,  in  the  great  cities  of  Pittsburgh  and  Scranton; 
and  at  this  writing  the  city  of  Philadelphia  is  in  the  midst 
of  preparations  for  a  Sunday  campaign;  while  the  Baltimore 
churches  have  also  invited  him  to  conduct  meetings  with 
them.  Billy  Sunday  is  now  a  national  figure — and  the 
foremost  personaUty  on  the  day's  rehgious  horizon.  A 
recent  issue  of  The  American  Magazine  carried  the  results 
of  a  voting  contest,  "Who's  the  Greatest  Man  in  America." 
Only  one  other  clergyman  (Bishop  Vincent,  of  Chautauqua) 
was  mentioned  at  all,  but  Billy  Sunday  was  tied  with 
Andrew  Carnegie  and  Judge  Lindsey  for  eighth  place. 


60   A  SHUT  DOOR— AND  AN  OPEN  ONE 

When  the  Presbytery  of  Chicago,  in  1905,  ordained 
William  A.  Sunday  to  the  regular  ministry,  there  were  some 
doubting  Thomases,  and  the  evangelist's  examination  lasted 
more  than  an  hour.  Since  then,  however,  Sunday  has  been 
honored  by  Princeton,  the  oldest  of  the  theological  semi- 
naries of  his  denomination,  as  no  other  living  man  has  been 
honored. 

When  Sunday  visited  Washington  for  a  day,  his  meet- 
ings overtopped  in  pubUc  interest  the  proceedings  of  the 
nation's  Congress  and  he  was  greeted  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  and  most  of  the  leading  government  officials. 

His  Philadelphia  meetings,  January  3 — March  21,  1915, 
were  literally  a  center  of  nation-wide  attention.  In  all  the 
history  of  the  world  no  other  rehgious  event  has  ever  received 
so  much  consecutive  and  contemporaneous  newspaper 
pubUcity.  Pilgrims,  clerical  and  lay,  traveled  to  Philadel- 
phia from  all  parts  of  the  land  in  order  to  attend  the  services. 
Several  hundred  New  York  clergymen  went  over  in  a  body 
to  spend  a  day  in  the  Tabernacle. 

There  are  no  parallels  for  the  manner  in  which  Phila- 
delphia and  its  vicinity  was  swept  by  the  revival.  The 
aggregate  attendance  upon  the  Tabernacle  services  was 
more  than  two  million  persons,  with  another  milHon  attend- 
ing the  meetings  conducted  by  the  eighteen  members  of  the 
Sunday  party,  and  by  the  volunteer  associates. 

The  ovation  given  to  Sunday  upon  his  arrival  at  Broad 
Street  Station  by  the  cheering  thousands  exceeded  anything 
ever  accorded  president,  prince  or  returning  hero.  The  fare- 
well demonstration  was  still  more  overwhelming. 

The  climax  of  twenty  years  of  arduous  campaigning 
was  this  Philadelphia  experience.  The  cards  signed  by  trail- 
hitters  numbered  41,724,  with  churches  reporting  two  and 
three  times  as  many  converts  outside  of  the  Tabernacle. 
The  last  day's  recruits  numbered  1,858.  The  farewell  gift 
to  Mr.  Sunday  was  $52,849.97,  and  the  collections  for  the 
local  expenses  were  over  $50,000.  Something  more  than 
$16,000  was  raised  in  the  meetings  for  charitable  purposes. 


CHAPTElt  VII 
Campaigning  for  Christ 

Let's  quit  fiddling  with  religion  and  do  something  to  bring  the  world 
to  Christ. — Billy  Sunday. 

HIS   American  birthright   of    plain   common    sense 
stands    Sunday   in  stead    of  theological    training. 
He  is  "  a  practical  man,"  as  mechanics  say.  Kipling's 
poem  on  "The  American"  hits  off  Sunday  exactly: 

"He  turns  a  keen,  imtroubled  face 
Home  to  the  instant  need  of  things." 

So  a  Sunday  evangeUstic  campaign  is  a  marvel  of  organ- 
ization. It  spells  efficiency  at  every  turn  and  is  a  lesson  to 
the  communities  which  do  Christian  work  in  haphazard, 
hit-or-miss  fashion.  Work  and  faith  are  written  large  over 
every  series  of  Sunday  meetings. 

Sunday  never  took  a  course  in  psychology,  but  he 
understands  the  crowd  mind.  He  knows  how  to  deal  with 
multitudes.  He  sees  clearly  where  the  masses  must  come 
from,  and  so  he  sets  to  work  to  bring  them  out  of  the  homes 
of  the  working  people.  He  goes  beyond  the  church  circles 
for  his  congregations,  and  makes  his  appeal  to  the  popular 
taste.  He  frankly  aims  to  strike  the  average  of  the  common 
people.  For  he  is  after  that  host  which  too  often  the 
preacher  knows  nothing  about. 

People  must  be  set  to  talking  about  rehgion  and  about 
the  Sunday  campaign  if  the  latter  is  to  succeed.  Indifference 
is  the  foe  of  all  foes  to  be  feared  by  an  evangehst.  Even 
hostile  criticism  really  serves  a  religious  purpose,  for  .it 
directs  attention  to  the  messenger  and  the  message.  Knowl- 
edge of  this  is  the  reason  why  Sunday  always  devotes  his 
earUest  sermons  in  a  campaign  to  the  subjects  likehest  to 


62  CAMPAIGNING  FOR  CHRIST 

create  comment.  These  are  the  discourses  that  contain 
the  largest  proportion  of  startUng  views  and  language. 

Part  of  the  task  of  a  man  who  would  move  a  city  for 
Christ  is  to  consohdate  Christian  sentiment  and  to  create 
a  Church  consciousness.  Sunday  is  at  great  pains  to  get 
his  own  ''crowd"  behind  him.  He  evokes  that  loyalty 
which  alone  makes  organized  work  and  war  effective. 

So  he  insists  that  churches  must  unite  before  he  will 
visit  a  city.  Also  he  asks  that  they  siu'render  their  Sunday 
services,  all  uniting  in  common  worship  in  the  Tabernacle. 
For  these  campaigns  are  not  Billy  Sunday  meetings:  they 
are  an  effort  toward  a  revival  of  reUgion  on  the  part  of  the 
united  Christian  forces  of  a  conununity.  If  anybody  thinks 
the  evangehst  disparages  the  Church,  he  need  but  recall  the 
particular  effort  Sunday  makes  to  solidify  the  Church  folk: 
that  reveals  his  real  estimate  of  the  Church.  He  would  no 
more  attempt  a  revival  without  church  co-operation  than  a 
general  would  besiege  a  city  without  an  army.  This 
Christian  unity  which  he  requires  first  of  all  is  a  sermon  in 
itself. 

Before  one  has  looked  very  deeply  into  the  work  of 
Evangehst  Sunday  he  perceives  that  it  is  no  new  message 
the  man  speaks,  but  that  it  is  his  modernization  of  language 
and  of  methods  that  makes  possible  the  achieving  of  great 
results  by  the  old  Gospel. 

The  preacher  of  a  generation  ago  would  have  counted 
it  indecorous  to  make  use  of  the  public  press.  Sunday 
depends  largely  upon  the  newspapers  for  spreading  his 
message  and  promoting  interest  in  the  meetings.  He  does 
not  employ  a  press  agent;  he  simply  extends  to  the  local 
press  all  the  facihties  and  co-operation  in  his  power.  He  is 
always  accessible  to  the  reporters  and  ever  ready  to  assist 
in  their  work  in  any  proper  fashion.  He  makes  public 
annoimcements  frequently  in  his  meetings  of  the  cordial 
assistance  he  has  received  from  the  newspapers. 

Without  any  expense  to  anybody  and  without  any 
scientific  experience  in  this  particular  field,  Sunday  has 


CAMPAIGNING  FOR  CHRIST  63 

demonstrated  the  power  of  Christian  pubUcity.  The  news- 
papers carry  his  messages  all  over  the  world.  The  Pitts- 
bm*gh  daiUes  pubhshed  special  "Simday  Editions."  They 
had  thousands  of  subscribers  for  the  issues  containing  the 
evangeUst's  sermons  and  many  persons  have  been  converted 
by  reading  the  newspaper  accounts  of  the  Simday  meetings. 
One  cherished  story  tells  of  a  young  man  in  China  who  had 
been  converted  thirteen  thousand  miles  away  from  the 
spot  where  the  evangelist  was  speaking.  Simday  makes 
reUgion  "Uve  news."  Editors  are  glad  to  have  copy  about 
him  and  his  work,  and  about  anything  that  pertains  to  the 
campaigns.  The  imiform  experience  of  the  commimities  he 
has  visited  is  that  the  Church  has  had  more  pubhcity  through 
his  visit  than  on  any  other  occasion. 

After  Sunday  has  accepted  a  city's  invitation  and  a 
date  has  been  fixed  for  the  meetings,  and  the  time  has  drawn 
near,  he  gets  the  Church  people  to  organize.  Before  ever 
a  hammer  has  struck  a  blow  in  the  building  of  the  Sunday 
Tabernacle,  the  people  have  been  meeting  daily  in  the  homes 
of  the  city  for  concerted  prayer  for  the  Divine  favor  upon 
the  campaign. 

By  the  Sunday  system  of  work,  every  few  blocks  in 
the  city  is  made  a  center  for  cottage  prayer-meetings.  No 
politician  ever  divided  a  community  more  carefully  than  do 
the  Sunday  workers  in  arranging  for  these  prayer-meetings. 
Every  section  of  the  city  is  covered  and  every  block  and 
street.  By  preference,  the  meetings  are  held  in  the  homes 
of  the  imconverted,  and  it  is  a  normal  experience  for  con- 
versions to  be  reported  before  ever  the  evangeUst  arrives. 
In  Scranton  the  city  was  divided  into  nine  districts  besides 
the  suburbs  and  these  districts  were  again  sub-divided  so 
that  one  had  as  many  as  eighty-four  prayer  groups.  The 
total  proportions  of  this  kind  of  work  are  illustrated  by  the 
Pittsburgh  figures:  Between  December  2  and  December 
26,  4,137  prayer  meetings  in  private  houses  were  held,  hav- 
ing a  combined  attendance  of  68,360  persons.  But  these 
figures  were  wholly  ecUpsed  by  those  from  Philadelphia. 


64  CAMPAIGNING  FOR  CHRIST 

A  stranger  roaming  about  the  streets  of  Philadelphia 
during  December,  1914,  would  have  been  struck  by  the 
number  of  signs  in  the  windows  of  private  homes,  announc- 
ing prayer  meetings  within.  During  the  entire  month  these 
home  prayer  meetings  were  held  twice  a  week,  averaging 
more  than  five  thousand  meetings  on  each  assigned  night, 
with  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  persons  present 
nightly.  This  meant  an  aggregate  attendance  of  nearly 
a  milUon  Christians  upon  preparatory  prayer  services! 

When  tens  of  thousands  of  earnest  Christians  are 
meeting  constantly  for  united  prayer  a  spirit  of  expectancy 
and  unity  is  created  which  makes  sure  the  success  of  the 
revival.  Incidentally,  there  is  a  welding  together  of  Christian 
forces  that  will  abide  long  after  the  evangeUst  has  gone. 
These  preliminary  prayer-meetings  are  a  revelation  of  the 
tremendous  possibiHties  inherent  in  the  chm-ches  of  any 
community.  With  such  a  sea  of  prayer  buoying  him  up 
any  preacher  could  have  a  revival. 

Sagaciously,  Simday  throws  all  responsibihty  back  on 
the  chm-ches.  While  he  takes  command  of  the  ship  when  he 
arrives,  yet  he  does  all  in  his  power  to  prevent  the  campaign 
from  being  a  one-man  affair.  The  local  committee  must 
underwrite  the  expenses;  for  these  campaigns  are  not  to  be 
financed  by  the  gifts  of  the  wealthy,  but  by  the  rank  and  file 
of  the  church  membership  acceptiag  responsibihty  of  the 
work.  The  guarantees  are  underwritten  in  the  form  of 
shares  and  each  guarantor  receives  a  receipt  for  his  shares 
to  be  preserved  as  a  memento  of  the  campaign.  True,  no 
guarantor  ever  had  to  pay  a  dollar  on  his  Billy  Simday 
campaign  subscription,  for  the  evangelist  himself  raises  all 
of  the  expense  money  in  the  early  meetiQgs  of  the  series. 

John  the  Baptist  was  only  a  voice:  but  Billy  Sunday  is 
a  voice,  plus  a  bewildering  array  of  committees  and  assistants 
and  organized  machinery.  He  has  committees  galore  to 
co-operate  ia  his  work:  a  drilled  army  of  the  Lord.  In  the 
list  of  Scranton  workers  that  is  before  me  I  see  tabulated 
an  executive  conomittee,  the  directors,  a  prayer-meeting  com- 


CAMPAIGNING  FOR  CHRIST  65 

mittee,  an  entertainment  committee,  an  usher  committee, 
a  dinner  committee,  a  business  women's  committee,  a  build- 
ing committee,  a  nursery  committee,  a  personal  workers' 
committee,  a  decorating  committee,  a  shop-meetings  com- 
mittee— and  then  a  whole  list  of  churches  and  reUgious 
organizations  in  the  city  as  ex-officio  workers! 

Wherever  he  goes  Sunday  erects  a  special  tabernacle 
for  his  meetings.  There  are  many  reasons  for  this.  The 
very  building  of  a  tabernacle  dedicated  to  this  one  special 
use  helps  create  an  interest  in  the  campaign  as  something 
new  come  to  town.  But,  primarily,  the  evangelist's  purposes 
are  practical.  In  the  first  place,  everything  has  to  be  on 
the  ground  floor.  Converts  cannot  come  forward  from  a 
gallery.  In  addition,  existing  big  buildings  rarely  have 
proper  acoustics.  Most  of  all  Sunday,  who  has  a  dread  of 
panics  or  accidents  happening  in  connection  with  his 
meetings,  stresses  the  point  that  in  his  tabernacle  people 
have  their  feet  on  the  ground.  There  is  nothing  to  give 
way  with  them.  The  sawdust  and  tan  bark  is  warm,  dust- 
less,  sanitary,  fireproof  and  noiseless.  "When  a  crowd 
gets  to  walking  on  a  wooden  floor,"  said  Sunday — and  then 
he  made  a  motion  of  sheer  disgust  that  shows  how  sensitive 
he  is  to  any  sort  of  disturbance — "it's  the  limit." 

One  of  his  idiosyncrasies  is  that  he  must  have  a  perfectly 
still  audience.  He  will  stop  in  the  midst  of  a  sermon  to  let 
a  single  person  walk  down  the  aisle.  When  auditors  start 
coughing  he  stops  preaching.  He  never  lets  his  crowd  get 
for  an  instant  out  of  hand.  The  result  is  that  there  probably 
never  were  so  many  persons  gathered  together  in  one  building 
at  one  time  in  such  uniform  quietness. 

The  possibiUties  of  panic  in  a  massed  multitude  of 
thousands  are  best  understood  by  those  who  have  had  most 
to  do  with  crowds.  Sunday's  watchfulness  against  this 
marks  the  shrewd  American  caution  of  the  man.  His 
tabernacles,  no  matter  whether  they  seat  five,  eight,  ten, 
fifteen,  or  twenty  thousand  persons,  are  all  built  under  the 
direction  of  his  own  helper,  who  has  traveled  with  him  for 


66  CAMPAIGNING  FOR  CHRIST 

years.  He  knows  that  nothing  will  break  down,  or  go 
askew.  His  tabernacles  are  fairly  panic-proof.  Thus  every 
aisle,  lengthwise  and  crosswise,  ends  in  a  door. 

So  careful  is  he  of  the  emergency  that  might  arise  for  a 
quick  exit  that  no  board  in  the  whole  tabernacle  is  fastened 
with  more  than  two  nails;  so  that  one  could  put  his  foot 
through  the  side  of  the  wall  if  there  was  need  to  get  out 
hmriedly.  Describing  the  building  of  the  choir  platform 
Simday  says,  with  a  grim  shutting  of  his  jaws:  "You 
could  run  a  locomotive  over  it  and  never  faze  it."  His 
own  platform,  on  which  he  does  amazing  gymnastic  stunts 
at  every  meeting,  is  made  to  withstand  all  shocks.  About 
the  walls  of  the  tabernacle  are  fire  extinguishers,  and  a  squad 
of  firemen  and  policemen  are  on  duty  with  every  audience. 

There  is  nothing  about  a  Sunday  tabernacle  to  suggest 
a  cathedral.  It  is  a  big  turtle-back  barn  of  raw,  imfinished 
timber,  but  it  has  been  constructed  for  its  special  purpose, 
and  every  mechanical  device  is  used  to  assist  the  speaker's 
voice.  Sunday  can  make  twenty-five  thousand  persons 
hear  perfectly  in  one  of  his  big  tabernacles.  A  huge  sounding 
board,  more  useful  than  beautiful,  hangs  Uke  an  inverted 
sugar  scoop  over  the  evangelist's  platform. 

Behind  the  platform  is  the  post  office,  to  which  the  names 
of  converts  are  sent  for  the  city  pastors  every  day;  and  here 
also  are  the  telephones  for  the  use  of  the  press.  Adjoining 
the  tabernacle  is  a  nursery  for  babies,  and  an  emergency 
hospital  with  a  nurse  in  attendance.  It  seems  as  if  no 
detail  of  efficient  service  has  been  overlooked  by  this  practical 
westerner.  So  well  organized  is  everything  that  the  collec- 
tion can  be  taken  in  an  audience  of  eight  thousand  persons 
within  three  minutes. 

While  touching  upon  collections,  this  is  as  good  a  place 
as  any  to  raise  the  point  of  Mr.  Sunday's  own  compensation. 
He  receives  a  free-will  offering  made  on  the  last  day.  The 
offerings  taken  in  the  early  weeks  are  to  meet  the  expenses 
of  the  local  committee.  Mr.  Sunday  has  nothing  to  do 
with  this.     This  committee  also  pays  approximately  half 


CAMPAIGNING  FOR  CHRIST  07 

of  the  expenses  of  his  staff  of  workers,  and  it  also  provides 
a  home  for  the  Sunday  party  during  their  sojourn.  Mr. 
Sunday  himself  pays  the  balance  of  the  expenses  of  his 
workers  out  of  the  free-will  offering  which  he  receives  on  the 
last  day.  These  gifts  have  reached  large  figures — over 
$40,000  in  Pittsburgh  and  $52,849.97  in  Philadelphia. 

There  is  a  quality  in  human  nature  which  will  not 
associate  money  with  reUgion,  and  while  we  hear  nobody 
grumble  at  a  city's  paying  thousands  of  dollars  a  night  for 
a  grand  opera  performance;  yet  an  evangelist  who  has 
sweetened  up  an  entire  city,  lessened  the  police  expense, 
promoted  the  general  happiness  and  redeemed  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  lives  from  open  sin  to  godliness,  is  accused 
of  mercenariness,  because  those  whom  he  has  served  give 
him  a  lavish  offering  as  he  departs. 

Although  much  criticized  on  the  subject  of  money,  Mr. 
Simday  steadfastly  refuses  to  make  answer  to  these  strictures 
or  to  render  an  accounting,  insisting  that  this  is  entirely  a 
personal  matter  with  him.  Nobody  who  knows  him  doubts 
his  personal  generosity  or  his  sense  of  stewardship.  Inti- 
mate friends  say  that  he  tithes  his  income. 

Three  important  departments  of  the  Sunday  organization 
are  the  choir,  the  ushers,-  and  the  personal-work  secretaries. 
Concerning  the  first  more  will  be  said  in  a  later  chapter. 
The  ushers  are  by  no  means  ornamental  functionaries. 
They  are  a  drilled  regiment,  each  with  his  station  of  duty 
and  all  disciplined  to  meet  any  emergency  that  may  arise. 
In  addition  to  seating  the  people  and  taking  the  collection, 
they  have  the  difficult  task  of  assisting  the  officers  to  keep 
out  the  overflow  crowds  who  try  to  press  into  the  building 
that  has  been  filled  to  its  legal  capacity.  For  it  is  quite  a 
normal  condition  in  the  Sunday  campaigns  for  thousands 
of  persons  to  try  to  crowd  their  way  into  the  tabernacle  after 
the  latter  is  fidl.  Sometimes  it  takes  foot-ball  tactics  to 
keep  them  out. 

Without  the  assistance  of  the  personal-work  secretaries 
the  rush  forward  when  the  invitation  is  extended  would 


68  CAMPAIGNING  FOR  CHRIST 

mean  a  frantic  mob.  The  recruits  have  to  be  formed 
into  line  and  directed  to  the  pulpit  where  they  take  Mr. 
Sunday's  hand.  Then  they  must  be  guided  into  the  front 
benches  and  the  name  and  address  and  church  preference 
of  each  secured.  While  the  invitation  is  being  given  personal 
workers  all  over  the  building  are  busy  gathering  converts. 
The  magnitude  of  the  Sunday  evangelistic  meetings  in  their 
results  is  revealed  by  the  necessity  for  systematically  han- 
dling the  converts  as  vividly  as  by  any  other  one  factor. 

The  tabernacle  by  no  means  houses  all  of  the  Sunday 
campaign.  There  are  noon  shop  meetings,  there  are  noon 
meetings  for  business  women  and  luncheon  meetings,  there 
are  services  in  the  schools,  in  the  jails,  in  the  hospitals,  and 
there  are  special  afternoon  parlor  meetings  where  social 
leaders  hear  the  same  message  that  is  given  to  the  men  of 
the  street.  In  a  phrase,  the  entire  community  is  combed  by 
personal  activity  in  order  to  reach  everybody  with  the 
Sunday  evangehstic  invitation. 

The  personnel  of  the  Sunday  party  has  varied  during 
the  years.  The  first  assistant  was  Fred  G.  Fischer,  a  soloist 
and  choir  leader  who  continued  with  the  evangelist  for 
eight  years.  At  present  the  staff  numbers  about  a  dozen 
workers.  Among  past  and  present  helpers  have  been  Homer 
A.  Rodeheaver,  the  chorister;  Charles  Butler,  the  soloist; 
EUjah  J.  Brown  ("Ram's  Horn"  Brown);  Fred.  R.  Seibert, 
an  ex-cowboy  and  a  graduate  of  the  Moody  School,  who  is 
the  handy  man  of  the  tabernacle;  Miss  Frances  Miller, 
Miss  Grace  Saxe,  Miss  Anna  MacLaren,  Mrs.  Rae  Muirhead, 
Rev.  L.  K.  Peacock,  B.  D.  Ackley,  Albert  G.  Gill,  Joseph 
S|)eice,  the  builder,  Mrs.  and  Mr.  Asher  and  Rev.  I.  E. 
Honeywell.  As  the  magnitude  of  the  work  increases  this 
force  is  steadily  augmented,  so  that  the  evangelist  must 
not  only  be  a  prophet  but  a  captain  of  industry. 

The  Sunday  Campaign  clearly  reveals  that  as  Kipling's 
old  engineer,  McAndrew,  says, 

"Ye'll  understand,  a  man  must  think  o'  things.'^ 


OH- CHRISTIAN - 


HAVE  YOU  ANY 
bCAR$    TO  SHOW 
IN  THIS 
CONFLICT? 


-A  THIRD  SAYST'emr 

MY  OLD    BACKS    HAD    A 

POWERFUL  CRICK  IN  IT  EVER 

3IMCI;    ANTIETAMI" 


-y^NOTHER 
PULLS  OOWM 
HIS  COLLAR 
TO  SHOW 
A  SCAR 
ON    HIS 

NECK 


CHRIST  HAS 
SCARS  TO 
SHOW!— 
5CARS  OH 
HIS  BROW- 
AND  ON 
HIS  HANDS 
Am  FEET? 
HI  WILL 
UL/\SIDLHI5 

ROBE  or 

ROYALTY 

AND 

5  HOW 
THE  5CAR 
ON  HIS 

5\DL\ 


WH/\T    SCT^^RS    HHVt 
YOU  TO    SHOW? 


BUBNINQ  WOBDS  OF   Mr.   SuNDAT  THAT  RBACH  THS   HeABT. 


CHAPTER  Vin 
"  Speech — Seasoned  with  Salt " 

I  want  to  preach  the  gospel  bo  plainly  that  men  can  come  from  the 
factories  and  not  have  to  bring  along  a  dictionary. — Billy  Sunday. 

SUNDAY  is  not  a  shepherd,  but  a  soldier;  not  a  hus- 
bandman of  a  vineyard,  but  a  quarryman.  The  r61e 
he  fills  more  nearly  approximates  that  of  the  Baptist, 
or  one  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets,  than  any  other 
Bible  character.  The  word  of  the  Lord  that  has  come  to 
him  is  not  "Comfort  ye!  comfort  ye!"  but  "Arouse  ye  I 
arouse  ye!"  and  "Repent!  repent!" 

EvangeUst  Sunday's  mission  is  not  conventional,  nor 
may  it  be  judged  by  conventional  standards.  He  is  not  a 
pastor;  probably  he  would  be  a  failure  in  the  pastorate. 
Neither  would  any  sensible  person  expect  pastors  to 
resemble  Billy  Sunday;  for  that,  too,  would  be  a  calamity. 

Taking  a  reasonable  view  of  the  case,  what  do  we  find? 
Here  is  a  man  whose  clear  work  it  is  to  attract  the  attention 
of  the  heedless  to  the  claims  of  the  gospel,  to  awaken  a 
somnolent  Church,  and  to  call  men  to  repentance.  To  do 
this  a  man  must  be  sensational,  just  as  John  the  Baptist 
was  sensational — not  to  mention  that  Greater  One  who 
drew  the  multitudes  by  his  wonderful  works  and  by  his 
unconventional  speech. 

In  the  time  of  Jesus,  as  now,  religion  had  become 
embalmed  in  petrified  phrases.  The  forms  of  rehgious 
speech  were  set.  But  Christ's  talk  was  not  different  from 
everyday  speech.  The  language  of  spirituality,  which  once 
represented  great  living  verities,  had  become  so  conven- 
tionalized that  it  slipped  easily  into  cant  and  "shop  talk." 
It  is  a  fact  which  we  scarcely  Uke  to  admit  that  myriads 
of  persons  who  attend  church  regularly  do  not  expect 
really  to  understand  what  the  preacher  is  talking  about- 

(69) 


70  "SPEECH— SEASONED  WITH  SALT" 

They  admire  his  "zeal"  or  "unction,"  but  as  for  under- 
standing him  as  clearly  and  definitely  as  they  understand 
a  neighbor  talking  over  the  back  fence — ^that  is  not  to  be 
thought  of. 

When  God  called  this  man  whom  the  common  people 
should  hear  gladly,  he  took  him  straight  out  of  the  walks 
of  common  life  with  no  other  vocabulary  than  that  of  ordi- 
nary "folks."  We  Americans  use  the  most  vivid  language 
of  any  people.  Our  words  are  alive,  new  ones  being  born 
every  hour.  "Slang"  we  call  these  word  pictures,  and  bar 
them  from  polite  speech  until  the  crowbar  of  custom  has 
jimmied  a  way  for  them  into  the  dictionary.  And  the 
most  productive  slang  factory  of  our  time  is  the  realm  of 
sports  in  which  Sunday  was  trained. 

So  he  talks  religion  as  he  talked  base  ball.  His  words 
smack  of  the  street  corners,  the  shop,  the  athletic  field, 
the  crowd  of  men.  That  this  speech  is  loose,  extravagant 
and  undignified  may  be  freely  granted:  but  it  is  under- 
standable. Any  kind  of  a  fair  play  that  will  get  the 
runners  to  the  home  plate  is  good  base  ball;  and  any 
speech  that  will  puncture  the  shell  of  human  nature's  com- 
placency and  indifference  to  religion  is  good  preaching. 
Neither  John  the  Baptist  nor  Jesus  was  dignified,  and 
highly  correct  Pharisees  despised  them  as  vulgarians;  "but 
the  common  people  heard  him  gladly."  With  such 
examples  before  him  on  one  side,  and  a  Church  water- 
logged with  dignity  on  the  other,  Sunday  has  "gone  the 
limit"  in  popularized  speech. 

Perhaps  he  is  not  as  polite  as  is  professionally  proper 
for  a  preacher.  He  seems  to  have  recovered  some  of  the 
prophet's  lost  art  of  denunciation.  He  dares  call  sin  by 
its  proper  name.  He  excoriates  the  hypocrite.  He  cares 
not  for  feelings  of  the  unfaithful  preacher  or  of  the  double- 
living  church  member.  As  for  the  devil  and  all  his  Ueuten- 
ants,  Sunday  has  for  them  a  sizzling,  blistering  vocabulary 
that  helps  men  to  loathe  sin  and  all  its  advocates.  His 
uncompromising  attitude  is  shown  by  this  gem,  culled 
from  one  of  his  sermons: 


^* SPEECH— SEASONED  WITH  SALT"  71 

"They  say  to  me,  'Bill,  you  rub  the  fur  the  wrong 
way.'     I  don't;  let  the  cats  turn  'round." 

Again,  "It  isn't  a  good  thing  to  have  synonyms  for 
sin.    Adultery  is  adultery,  even  though  you  call  it  aflfinity." 

Again,  "Paul  said  he  would  rather  speak  five  words 
that  were  understood  than  ten  thousand  words  in  an 
unknown  tongue.  That  hits  me.  I  want  people  to  know 
what  I  mean,  and  that's  why  I  try  to  get  down  where  they 
live.  What  do  I  care  if  some  puff-eyed,  dainty  little  dibbly- 
dibbly  preacher  goes  tibbly-tibbling  around  because  I  use 
plain  Anglo-Saxon  words." 

Two  important  points  are  to  be  considered  in  connec- 
tion with  Sunday's  vigorous  vocabulary;  the  first  is  that 
what  he  says  does  not  sound  as  bad  as  it  seems  in  cold  type. 
Often  he  is  incorrectly  reported.  The  constant  contention 
of  his  friends  is  that  he  should  be  heard  before  being  crit- 
icized. The  volume  of  testimony  of  all  the  men  who  have 
heard  him — preachers,  professors  and  purists — is  that  his 
addresses  which  seem  shocking  when  reported  are  not 
shocking  when  heard. 

On  the  public  square  in  Scranton  a  great  sign  was 
displayed  by  the  local  committee: 


BE  FAIR! 
DON'T   JUDGE   BILLY  SUNDAY   UNTIL  YOU 
HAVE  HEARD  HIM  YOURSELF. 
NO  REPORT,  VERBAL  OR  PRINTED,  CAN 
DO  HIM  PERFECT  JUSTICE. 


One  Scranton  business  man  put  it  this  way:  "Type 
is  cold;  his  sermons  are  hot." 

Sunday  speaks  with  his  eyes,  with  his  gestures  and 
with  every  muscle  of  his  body;  and  all  this  must  be  taken 


72         "SPEECH— SEASONED  WITH  SALT" 

into  account  in  weighing  his  words.  Assuredly  his  message 
in  its  totality  does  not  shock  anybody.  That  is  why 
preachers  sit  through  his  arraignment  of  a  deficient  church 
and  ministry  and  applaud  him.  They  find  in  his  severest 
utterances  a  substantial  volume  of  undoubted  truth. 

The  second  point  is  that  the  most  vigorous  speech  is 
used  earUest  in  an  evangeUstic  campaign.  That  is  one 
way  of  stirring  up  the  Church,  and  of  attracting  attention 
to  the  meetings.  Sunday  goads  Christians  to  an  interest. 
Apparently  he  purposely  speaks  to  arouse  resentment,  if 
no  other  form  of  interest  is  awakened  in  his  hearers.  The 
latter  part  of  a  Sunday  campaign  is  singularly  free  from 
his  denunciations,  from  his  invective  and  from  his  slang. 
There  is  a  clear  method  in  his  procedure,  which  is  always 
followed  in  about  the  same  course. 

Sunday  would  be  the  last  man  to  expect  everybody  to 
approve  all  that  he  says,  either  in  form  or  in  substance. 
I  don't;  and  I  know  no  other  thinking  observer  of  his 
meetings  who  does.  No  more  do  I  expect  him  to  approve 
all  that  is  said  in  this  book.  Nevertheless,  there  remains 
the  unanswerable  rejoinder  to  all  criticism  of  Evangelist 
Sunday's  utterances  and  message:  he  "delivers  the  goods." 
He  does  arouse  communities  to  an  interest  in  religion  as 
no  other  preacher  of  our  generation.  He  helps  people 
"get  right  with  God."  His  campaigns  promote  righteous- 
ness, diminish  wickedness  and  strengthen  the  Church. 

As  samples  of  the  pungent  sort  of  speech  with  which 
Sunday's  discourses  are  flavored  I  have  selected  these 
shakings  from  his  salt-celler: 

Live  so  that  when  the  final  summons  comes  you  will 
leave  something  more  behind  you  than  an  epitaph  on  a 
tombstone  or  an  obituary  in  a  newspaper. 

You  can  find  anything  in  the  average  church  today, 
from  a  humming  bird  to  a  tm-key  buzzard. 

The  Lord  is  not  compelled  to  use  theologians.  He  can 
take  snakes,  sticks  or  anything  else,  and  use  them  for  the 
advancement  of  his  causcc 


^'SPEECH— SEASONED  WITH  SALT"         73 

The  Lord  may  have  to  pile  a  coflSn  on  your  back  before 
he  can  get  you  to  bend  it. 

Don't  throw  your  ticket  away  when  the  train  goes  into 
a  tunnel.    It  will  come  out  the  other  side. 

The  safest  pilot  is  not  the  fellow  that  wears  the  biggest 
hat,  but  the  man  who  knows  the  channels. 

If  a  man  goes  to  hell  he  ought  to  be  there,  or  he  wouldn't 
be  there. 

I  am  preaching  for  the  age  in  which  I  live.  I  am  just 
recasting  my  vocabulary  to  suit  the  people  of  my  age  instead 
of  Joshua's  age. 

The  Church  gives  the  people  what  they  need ;  the  theater 
gives  them  what  they  want. 

Death-bed  repentance  is  burning  the  candle  of  life  in 
the  service  of  the  devil,  and  then  blowing  the  smoke  into 
the  face  of  God. 

Your  reputation  is  what  people  say  about  you.  Your 
character  is  what  God  and  your  wife  know  about  you. 

When  your  heart  is  breaking  you  don't  want  the  dancing 
master  or  saloon-keeper.    No,  you  want  the  preacher. 

Don't  you  know  that  every  bad  man  in  a  community 
strengthens  the  devil's  mortgage? 

Pilate  washed  his  hands.  If  he  had  washed  his  old  black 
heart  he  would  have  been  all  right. 

It  takes  a  big  man  to  see  other  people  succeed  without 
raising  a  howl. 

It's  everybody's  business  how  you  live. 

Bring  your  repentance  down  to  a  spot-cash  basis. 

I  believe  that  cards  and  dancing  are  doing  more  to  dam 
the  spiritual  Ufe  of  the  Church  than  the  grog-shops — though 
you  can't  accuse  me  of  being  a  friend  of  that  stinking,  dirty, 
rotten,  hell-soaked  business. 

If  you  took  no  more  care  of  yom*self  physically  than 
spiritually,  you'd  be  just  as  dried  up  physically  as  you  are 
spiritually. 


74         "SPEECH— SEASONED  WITH  SALT'^ 

We  place  too  much  reliance  upon  preaching  and  upon 
iinging,  and  too  Uttle  on  the  living  of  those  who  sit  in  the 
pews. 

The  carpet  in  front  of  the  mirrors  of  some  of  you  people 
is  worn  threadbare,  while  at  the  side  of  your  bed  where  you 
should  kneel  in  prayer  it  is  as  good  as  the  day  you  put  it 
down. 

Some  persons  think  they  have  to  look  like  a  hedgehog  to 
be  pious. 

Look  into  the  preaching  Jesus  did  and  you  will  find  it 
was  aimed  strai^t  at  the  big  sinners  on  the  front  seats. 

If  you  hve  wrong  you  can't  die  right. 

"You  are  weighed  in  the  balance" — but  not  by  Brad- 
street's  or  Dun's — ^you  are  weighed  in  God's  balance. 

A  revival  gives  the  Church  a  Uttle  digitaUs  instead  of  an 
opiate. 

It  isn't  the  sawdust  trail  that  brings  you  to  Christ,  it's 
the  Christ  that  is  in  the  trail,  the  Christ  that  is  in  your 
public  confession  of  sins. 

Some  sermons  instead  of  being  a  bugle  call  for  service, 
are  nothing  more  than  showers  of  spiritual  cocaine. 

Theology  bears  the  same  relation  to  Christianity  that 
botany  does  to  flowers. 

Morality  isn't  the  light;  it  is  only  the  poUsh  on  the 
candlestick. 

Some  homes  need  a  hickory  switch  a  good  deal  more 
than  they  do  a  piano. 

Churches  don't  need  new  members  half  so  much  as 
they  need  the  old  bunch  made  over. 

God's  work  is  too  often  side-tracked,  while  social, 
business  and  domestic  arrangements  are  thundering  through 
on  the  main  line. 

A  lot  of  people,  from  the  way  they  live,  make  you  think 
they've  got  a  ticket  to  heaven  on  a  Pullman  parlor  car  and 
have  ordered  the  porter  to  wake  'em  up  when  they  get  there. 
But  they'll  get  side-tracked  almost  before  they've  started. 


''SPEECH— SEASONED  WITH  SALT"  75 

I  believe  that  a  long  step  toward  public  morality  will 
have  been  taken  when  sins  are  called  by  their  right  names. 

The  bars  of  the  Church  are  so  low  that  any  old  hog  with 
two  or  three  suits  of  clothes  and  a  bank  roll  can  crawl  through. 

You  will  not  have  power  until  there  is  nothing  question- 
able in  your  Ufe. 

You  can't  measiu-e  manhood  with  a  tape  line  aroimd 
the  biceps. 

The  social  life  is  the  reflex  of  the  home  life. 

There  are  some  so-called  Christian  homes  today  with 
books  on  the  shelves  of  the  library  that  have  no  more  busi- 
ness there  than  a  rattler  crawling  about  on  the  floor,  or  poison 
within  the  child's  reach. 

Home  is  the  place  we  love  best  and  grumble  the  most. 

I  don't  believe  there  are  devils  enough  in  hell  to  pull  a 
boy  out  of  the  arms  of  a  godly  mother. 

To  train  a  boy  in  the  way  he  should  go  you  must  go  that 
way  yourself. 

The  man  who  lives  for  himself  alone  will  be  the  sole 
mourner  at  his  own  funeral. 

Don't  try  to  cover  up  the  cussedness  of  your  life,  but 
get  fixed  up. 

Wrong  company  soon  makes  everything  else  wrong. 
An  angel  would  never  be  able  to  get  back  to  heaven  again 
if  he  came  down  here  for  a  week  and  put  in  his  time  going 
with  company  that  some  church  members  would  consider 
good. 

The  devil  often  grinds  the  axe  with  which  God  hews. 

I  wish  the  Church  were  as  afraid  of  imperfection  as  it  is 
of  perfection. 

Whisky  is  all  right  in  its  place — but  its  place  is  in  hell. 

A  pup  barks  more  than  an  old  dog. 

Character  needs  no  epitaph.  You  can  bury  the  man, 
but  character  will  beat  the  hearse  back  from  the  graveyard 


76  "SPEECH— SEASONED  WITH  SALT" 

and  it  will  travel  up  and  down  the  streets  while  you  are  under 
the  sod.  It  will  bless  or  blight  long  after  your  name  is 
forgotten. 

Some  people  pray  like  a  jack-rabbit  eating  cabbage. 

If  you  put  a  polecat  in  the  parlor  you  know  which  will 
change  first — the  polecat  or  the  parlor? 

A  church  is  not  dropped  down  on  a  street  comer  to 
decorate  the  comer  and  be  the  property  of  a  certain  denomi- 
nation. 

Many  preachers  are  like  a  physician — strong  on  diag- 
nosis, but  weak  on  therapeutics. 

Your  religion  is  in  your  will,  not  in  your  handkerchief. 

It  won't  save  your  soul  if  your  wife  is  a  Christian.  You 
have  got  to  be  something  more  than  a  brother-in-law  to 
the  Church. 

If  every  black  cloud  had  a  cyclone  in  it,  the  world 
would  have  been  blown  into  tooth-picks  long  ago. 

No  man  has  any  business  to  be  in  a  bad  business. 

When  you  quit  living  like  the  devil  I  will  quit  preaching 
that  way. 

You  can't  raise  the  standard  of  women's  morals  by 
raising  their  pay  envelope.    It  lies  deeper  than  that. 

The  seventh  commandment  is  not:  "Thou  shalt  not 
commit  affinity." 

A  saloon-keeper  and  a  good  mother  don't  pull  on  the 
same  rope. 

The  presumptive  husband  should  be  able  to  show  more 
than  the  price  of  a  marriage  license. 

Put  the  kicking  straps  on  the  old  Adam,  feed  the  angel 
in  you,  and  starve  the  devil. 

When  a  baby  is  bom,  what  do  you  do  with  it?  Put  it  in 
a  refrigerator?  That's  a  good  place  for  a  dead  chicken,  and 
cold  meat,  but  a  poor  place  for  babies.  Then  don't  put  these 
Tiew  converts,  'babes  in  Christ,'  into  refrigerator  churches. 


"Vuj  Fioht  till  HsLii  Fbbezbs  Ovbb. 


"SPEECH— SEASONED  WITH  SALT"         77 

Nobody  can  read  the  Bible  thoughtfully,  and  not  be 
impressed  with  the  way  it  upholds  the  manhood  of  man. 
More  chapters  in  the  Bible  are  devoted  to  portrajdng  the 
manhood  of  Caleb  than  to  the  creation  of  the  world. 

Home  is  on  a  level  with  the  women;  the  town  is  on  a 
level  with  the  homes. 

You  will  find  lots  of  things  in  Shakespeare  which  are 
not  fit  for  reading  in  a  mixed  audience  and  call  that  litera- 
ture. When  you  hear  some  truths  here  in  the  tabernacle 
you  will  call  it  vulgar. 
It  makes  all  the  differ- 
ence in  the  world 
whether  Bill  Shakes- 
peare or  Bill  Sunday 
said  it. 

The  more  oyster 
soup  it  takes  to  run  a 
church,  the  faster  it 
runs  to  the  devil. 

The  reason  you 
don't  like  the  Bible, 
you  old  sinner,  is 
because  it  knows  all 
about  you. 

rSOD       ingersoll    "^  Saloon-keeper  and  a  Good  Mother 
wasn't  the  first  to  find  Don't  Pull  on  the  Same  Rope" 

out  that  Moses  made 

mistakes.     God  knew  about  it  long  before  Ingersoll  was 

bom. 

All  that  God  has  ever  done  to  save  this  old  world,  has 
been  done  through  men  and  women  of  flesh  and  blood  like 
ourselves. 

Nearly  everybody  is  stuck  up  about  something.  Some 
people  are  even  proud  that  they  aren't  proud. 

The  average  young  man  is  more  careful  of  his  company 
than  the  average  girl. 

Going  to  church  doesn't  make  a  man  a  Christian,  any 
more  than  going  to  a  garage  makes  him  an  automobile. 


78  ''SPEECH— SEASONED  WITH  SALT" 

If  we  people  were  able  to  have  panes  of  glass  over  our 
hearts,  some  of  us  would  want  stained  glass,  wouldn't  we? 

To  see  some  people,  you  would  think  that  the  essential 
orthodox  Christianity  is  to  have  a  face  so  long  they  could 
eat  oatmeal  out  of  the  end  of  a  gas  pipe. 

God  likes  a  little  humor,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that 
he  made  the  monkey,  the  parrot — and  some  of  you  people. 

Wouldn't  this  city  be  a  great  place  to  live  in  if  some 
people  would  die,  get  converted,  or  move  away? 

The  normal  way  to  get  rid  of  drunkards  is  to  quit 
raising  drunkards — to  put  the  business  that  makes  drunkards 
out  of  business. 

You  can't  shine  for  God  on  Simday,  and  then  be  a 
London  fog  on  Monday. 

I  don't  beheve  that  God  wants  any  man  to  be  a  hermit. 
Jesus  Christ  did  not  wear  a  hair  shirt  and  sleep  upon  a  bed 
of  spikes.  He  went  among  the  people  and  preached  the 
Gospel. 

If  you  only  believe  things  that  you  can  imderstand  you 
must  be  an  awful  ignoramus. 

There  is  more  power  in  a  mother's  hand  than  in  a  king's 
scepter. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  there  are  men  looking  into  my 
face  tonight  who  will  have  "1914"  carved  on  their  tomb- 
stones. 

If  God  had  no  more  interest  in  this  world  than  some  of 
you  church  members  have  in  Johnstown,  this  city  would 
have  been  in  hell  long  ago. 

I  hate  to  see  a  man  roll  up  to  church  in  a  limousine  and 
then  drop  a  quarter  in  the  collection  plate. 

Give  your  face  to  God  and  he  will  put  his  shine  on  it. 

No  fountain  under  the  sun  can  hold  enough  to  satisfy 
an  immortal  spirit. 

Jesus  Christ  came  among  the  common  people.  Abraham 
Lincoln  said  that  God  must  have  loved  the  conmaon  people: 
he  made  so  many  of  them. 


"SPEECH— SEASONED  WITH  SALT"  79 

Yank  some  of  the  groans  out  of  your  prayers,  and  shove 
in  some  shouts. 

The  Bible  says  forgive  your  debtors;  the  world  says 
"sue  them  for  their  dough." 

The  race  will  appear  as  far  above  us  as  we  are  above  the 
harem  when  godly  girls  marry  godly  men. 

It  is  impossible  for  a  saloon-keeper  to  enjoy  a  good  red- 
hot  prayer-meeting. 

I'm  no  spiritual  masseur  or  osteopath.  I'm  a  surgeon, 
and  I  cut  deep. 

A  prudent  man  won't  swallow  a  potato  bug,  and  then 
take  Paris  green  to  kill  it. 

If  you  want  milk  and  honey  on  your  bread,  you'll  have 
to  go  into  the  land  where  there  are  giants. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  world  of  art  like  the  songs 
mother  used  to  sing. 

God  pays  a  good  mother.  Mothers,  get  your  names  on 
God's  payroll. 

The  man  who  can  drive  a  hog  and  keep  his  religion 
will  stand  without  hitching. 

The  right  preaching  of  the  Gospel  will  never  hurt  any- 
thing good. 

If  you  would  have  your  children  turn  out  well,  don't 
turn  your  home  into  a  lunch  counter  and  lodging  house. 

Man  was  a  fool  in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  and  he  has  taken 
a  good  many  new  degrees  since. 

The  backslider  likes  the  preaching  that  wouldn't  hit 
the  side  of  a  house,  while  the  real  disciple  is  delighted  when 
the  truth  brings  him  to  his  knees. 

There  would  be  more  power  in  the  prayers  of  some  folks 
if  they  would  put  more  white  money  in  the  collection  basket. 

What  have  you  given  the  world  it  never  possessed  before 
you  came? 

Temptation  is  the  devil  looking  through  the  keyhole. 
Yielding  is  opening  the  door  and  inviting  him  in^ 


CHAPTER  IX 
Battling  with  "Booze" 

The  man  who  votes  for  the  saloon  is  pulling  on  the  same  rope  with  th« 
devil,  whether  he  knows  it  or  not. — Billy  Sunday. 

THERE  is  a  tremendous  military  advantage  in  having 
a  definite  enemy.  The  sermons  that  are  aimed  at 
nothing  generally  hit  it.  Billy  Sunday  is  happiest 
and  most  successful  when  attacking  the  liquor  evil.  Down 
among  the  masses  of  men  he  learned  for  himself  the  awful 
mahgnity  of  strong  drink,  which  he  deems  the  greatest 
evil  of  our  day. 

So  he  fights  it.  Everybody  will  admit — the  saloon- 
keeper first  of  all — that  Billy  Sunday  is  the  most  effective 
foe  of  the  liquor  business  in  America  today.  Small  won- 
der the  brewers  spend  large  sums  of  money  in  circulating 
attacks  upon  him,  and  in  going  before  him  to  every  town 
where  he  conducts  meetings,  spreading  slanders  of  many 
sorts. 

There  is  a  ghastly  humor  in  the  success  the  brewers 
have  in  enUsting  the  preachers  to  make  common  cause  with 
them  in  discrediting  this  evangehst.  Shrewd  men  have 
come  quite  generally  to  the  conclusion  that  they  will  not 
give  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemies  of  righteousness  whose 
interests  are  best  served  by  criticism  of  Billy  Sunday. 
All  incidental  questions  aside,  Sunday  does  the  Lord's  work 
and  is  on  the  Lord's  side.  It  is  a  pitiable  spectacle  to  see 
the  Lord's  servants  attacking  him;  though  it  is  quite  under- 
standable why  the  liquor  interest  should  spend  large  sums 
of  money  in  antagonizing  Sunday.  It  would  be  worth  a 
milUon  dollars  to  them  any  day  if  he  could  be  put  out  of 
action. 

Wherever  Sunday  goes  a  great  temperance  awakening 
follows.     In  eleven  of  fifteen  Illinois  towns  where  he  cam- 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  81 

paigned  "dry"  victories  were  won  at  the  next  election. 
Fifteen  hundred  saloons  were  put  out  of  business  in  a  single 
day  in  Illinois,  largely  as  the  result  of  his  work.  With 
characteristic  indifference  to  figures  and  tabulated  results, 
Sunday  has  kept  no  record  of  the  communities  which  have 
gone  "dry"  following  his  meetings.  That  consequence 
is  conmion.  His  recent  presence  in  Pennsylvania  is  the 
surest  token  that  the  Keystone  State  will  not  much 
longer  be  the  boasted  Gibraltar  of  the  liquor  interests. 
Even  up  in  Pennsylvania's  coal  regions,  with  their 
large  foreign  population,  many  communities  are  going 
"dry,"  while  individual  saloons  are  being  starved  out. 
Within  about  a  year  of  Sunday's  visit  there,  the 
number  of  saloons  was  reduced  by  more  than  two  him- 
dred. 

So  intense  is  Sunday's  zest  for  temperance  that  he  will 
go  anywhere  possible  to  deliver  a  blow  against  the  saloon. 
He  has  toured  Illinois  and  West  Virginia  in  special  trains, 
campaigning  for  temperance.  During  the  Sunday  cam- 
paign in  Johnstown  ten  thousand  men  in  a  meeting  organized 
themselves  into  a  Billy  Sunday  Anti-Saloon  League.  In 
Iowa  literally  scores  of  towns  and  counties  are  reported  as 
having  gone  dry  as  a  direct  result  of  the  Sunday  meetings. 
Muscatine,  Ottumwa,  Marshalltown,  Linwood  and  Center- 
ville  are  communities  in  point.  Thirteen  out  of  fifteen  towns 
in  Illinois  visited  by  Sunday  voted  out  the  saloon.  West 
Virginia's  temperance  leaders  utilized  Sunday  in  a  whirl- 
wind campaign  through  the  state.  He  spoke  in  ten  towns 
in  five  days,  travehng  from  point  to  point  in  a  special  car. 
It  is  now  history  that  West  Virginia  went  dry  by  ninety 
thousand  majority.  His  latest  work  in  the  West  has 
been  timed  to  precede  elections  where  the  temperance 
question  was  an  issue.  Next  to  his  passion  for  the  con- 
version of  men  and  women  is  this  consmning  antagonism 
to  rum. 

More  important  than  his  own  vaUant  blows  against  the 
saloon  is  the  fact  that  Sunday  makes  enemies  for  the  liquor 


82  BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE" 

business.  Practically  all  of  his  converts  and  friends  become 
enthusiastic  temperance  workers.  In  western  Pennsylvania 
he  converted  practical  machine  politicians  to  the  old  time 
Gospel  and  to  the  temperance  cause. 

Every  campaign  is  full  of  incidents  like  that  of  the 
blacksmith,  a  part  of  whose  business  came  from  a  large 
brewery.  When  this  man  became  a  Sunday  convert  and 
a  temperance  "fanatic,"  as  they  termed  him,  the  brewers' 
business  was  withdrawn.  But  the  loyalty  which  Sunday 
infuses  into  his  followers,  raUied  to  the  man's  help,  and  such 
a  volume  of  Christian  business  was  turned  his  way  that  his 
conversion  and  the  loss  of  the  brewery  trade  turned  out  to 
his  profit. 

In  the  Outlook  of  August  8,  1914,  Lewis  Edwin 
Theiss  introduces  a  powerful  article,  "Industry  versus 
Alcohol,"  with  this  Billy  Sunday  story: 

"  We  were  discussing  Billy  Sunday  and  the  economic 
effect  of  his  work. 

"  'The  vice-president  of  the  C Iron  Works  told 

me,'  said  a  manufacturer  of  railway  cars,  'that  his  com- 
pany could  have  afforded  to  pay  its  employees  a  quarter 
of  a  million  dollars  more  than  their  wages  during  the  period 
that  Billy  Sunday  was  working  among  them.' 

'The  corporation  concerned  is  one  of  the  great  steel 
companies  of  the  country.     It  employs  thousands  of  men. 

"  '  Why  was  that? '    I  asked. 

"  'Because  of  the  increased  efficiency  of  the  men. 
They  were  steadier.  Accidents  decreased  remarkably. 
They  produced  enough  extra  steel  to  make  their  work  worth 
the  quarter  million  additional.' 

"  'It  is  interesting  to  find  that  reUgion  has  such  an 
effect  on  every-day  hfe,'  I  observed. 

"  'Religion  as  such  had  Httle  to  do  with  it,'  repHed 
the  car-maker,  'except  that  it  started  it.  The  thing  that 
made  those  men  efficient  was  cutting  out  the  drink.  Billy 
Sunday  got  them  all  on  the  water  wagon.  They  became 
sober  and  staved  sober.     They  could  run  their  machines 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  88 

with  steady  hands  and  true  eyes.  The  men  themselves 
realize  what  a  difference  it  makes.  They  are  strong  for 
prohibition.  If  the  people  of  Pittsburgh  and  its  vicinity 
could  vote  on  the  temperance  question  today,  the  saloons 
would  be  wiped  out  there.' 

"  'The  manufacturers  are  strong  for  prohibition,  too. 
They  never  gave  much  thouglit  to  the  matter  before. 
But  this  demonstration  of  Billy  Sunday's  has  made  us  all 
strong  for  prohibition.  We  know  now  that  most  of  our 
accidents  are  due  to  whisky.  For  years  we  have  been 
trying  to  find  a  way  to  secure  a  high  degree  of  efficiency 
among  our  men.  We  never  succeeded.  Along  comes  this 
preacher  and  accompUshes  more  in  a  few  weeks  than  we 
have  ever  been  able  to  do. 

"  'We  know  now  that  until  booze  is  banished  we  can 
never  have  really  efficient  workmen.  We're  fools  if  we 
don't  profit  by  what  he  has  shown  us.  Take  it  from  me, 
booze  has  got  to  go.  We  are  not  much  interested  in  the 
moral  side  of  the  matter  as  such.  It  is  purely  a  matter  of 
dollars  and  cents.  They  say  corporations  have  no  souls. 
From  this  time  forth  corporations  are  going  to  show 
mighty  Uttle  soul  toward  the  man  who  drinks.'  " 

A  great  parade  of  men  marks  the  close  of  a  Sunday 
campaign.  In  Scranton  the  line  of  march  was  broken  into 
by  a  brewer's  wagon.  The  driver  was  not  content  with 
trjdng  to  break  the  line  of  parade,  but  he  also  hurled  offensive 
epithets  at  Sunday  and  his  converts.  Perhaps  passive 
endm-ance  was  the  virtue  called  for  on  this  occasion;  but 
it  was  certainly  not  the  virtue  practiced.  For  those  husky 
mill  workers  stepped  out  of  line  for  a  moment,  bodily 
overturned  the  brewer's  wagon,  and  sent  the  beer 
kegs  rolling  in  the  street,  all  to  the  tune  of  the  Sunday 
war  song,  "De  Brewer's  Big  Horses  Can't  Run  Over 
Me." 

This  song,  written  by  H.  S.  Taylor,  is  the  most  popular 
one  in  the  Sunday  campaign.  It  is  by  no  means  a  hymn  of 
worship,   but   rather    a   battle-cry.     When   thousands    of 


De  Brewer's  Big  Rosses. 


(SOLO  AND  CHORUS.) 


•errllMHT,  IMT,  lY  riLLMOU  IRO*.;  HOME*  A.   aOOIHCAVfR,  OWNER.       INTIRNATIONM.  OOrYmOMT  MOUMS. 

ruauiMco  ir  pekmimion  of  th*  rooiheavbh  oomfamy,  philaoilphia  and  CHioAao. 


R.  8.  Taylor. 


J.  B.  Herbert. 


^^ 


^    ^    I     i: 


^ 


:F=T 


*=^ 


^ 


1.  Oh     do     Brew-  er^s    big  boss  -  es,  com  •  in'  down  de   road, 

2.  Oh      de       lick  -  er    men's  act  -  in'  like  dey  own    dia  place, 
8.  Oh     ni       bar-  ness  dem  boss  -  es  to      de  temp-'rance  cart, 

f                  »  f  f  f                  t                » 


:t 


t: 


3S 


± 


t^ 


^^ 


=t 


_, J J j_ 

Tot  -  in'     all     a  -  round    ole  Lu  -  ci  -  fer's  load;    Dey  step      so     high, 

ob  de    po'  man's  face.  Dey's  fat     and     sas  - 

to  gib  'em      a  start,     I'll  teach  'em     how 

»  »  »  .  til 


E 


Liv  -  in'     on     de  sweat 
Hit    'em  wid     a      ga 
r  t  1 


t^ 


i\u=iL 


W 


t^ 


J=t: 


38=^ 


t=f^ 


:t^=t^ 


W  I      L^ 


~* — ^ 

an'  dey  step  so  free.  But  dem  big  boas-  es  can't  ran  o  -  ver  me. 

ay     as     dey  can  be,  But  dem  big  boss-  es  can't  run  o  -  ver  me 

for    to    haw  and  gee,  For  dem  big  boss-  es  can't  run  o  -  ver  me 


S 


£ 


£ 


h 


I 


t=Xi 


It 


Choeus. 


m 


Ipqt 


i=t^ 


-«hs — i- 


3^ 


l£ 


i^-g-#- 


r      r 

Ob,  no!  boys,  ob,    no!  De  turnpike's  free  wherebber  I  go,  Fm  a  temperance 

fii- — I     r^    P    ! >         '      ■         -       - 


:nTf~[]iFI7 


? 


I  I  I 


Oh,    nol  boys,  no,  no,  not 


5bt 


r-w — y~y 


I 


^-rr^' 


v=^ 


■^—¥-9- 


w — m m- 


"r^rj 


r-r 


m 


in  -  gine,  don't  you  see.  And  de  Brewer's  big  boss-  es  can't  run  o  -  ver  me! 


4i4^ 


t=t: 


m 


^^ 


5=i?= 


v-1- 


ty    1/    I 


— b^—v- 

*  A  good  effect  can  b«  obtained  if  tta<  male  volcea  will  imitate  eacaping  ateam  and 
wblatle  while  the  female  voloea  sing  the  two  following  meaaurea. 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  85 

men  lift  their  voices  in  this  militant  refrain,  with  whistles 
blowing  and  bells  ringing  in  the  chorus,  the  effect  is 
fairly  thrilling.  Words  and  music  are  beneath  the 
consideration  of  the  scholarly  musician;  but  they  strike 
the  common  mind  of  the  American  who  wants  a  battle 
hymn. 

DE  BREWER'S  BIG  HOSSES.* 

Oh,  de  Brewer's  big  bosses,  comin'  down  de  road. 
To  tin'  all  around  ole  Lucifer's  load; 
Dey  step  so  high,  an'  dey  step  so  free, 
But  dem  big  bosses  can't  run  over  me. 

Chobub. 

Oh,  no!  boys,  oh,  no! 

De  turnpike's  free  wherebber  I  go, 

I'm  a  temperance  ingine,  don't  you  see, 

And  de  Brewer's  big  bosses  can't  run  over  me. 

Oh,  de  licker  men's  actin'  like  dey  own  dis  place, 
Livin'  on  de  sweat  ob  de  po'  man's  face, 
Dey's  fat  and  sassy  as  dey  can  be. 
But  dem  big  bosses  can't  run  over  me. — Cho. 

Ob,  I'll  harness  dem  bosses  to  de  temp'rance  cart, 

Hit  'em  wid  a  gad  to  gib  'em  a  start, 

I'll  teach  'em  how  for  to  haw  and  gee, 

For  dem.  big  bosses  can't  run  over  me. — Cho. 

Sunday  is  the  Peter  the  Hermit  of  the  temperance 
crusade.  He  inflames  men's  passions  for  this  righteous  war. 
Most  critics  call  his  sermon  on  "booze"  his  greatest  achieve- 
ment. He  treats  the  theme  from  all  angles — economic, 
social,  human,  and  religious.  WTien  he  puts  a  row  of  boys 
up  on  the  platform  and  offers  them  as  one  day's  contribution 
to  the  saloon's  grist  of  manhood  which  must  be  maintained, 
the  result  is  electric ;  all  the  militant  manhood  of  the  men 
before  him  is  urged  to  action. 

*  Reproduced  by  permission.    Copyright,  1887,  by  Fillmore  Bros.    Homer  A.  RodeheaTar 
avner.    iDtemationai  oopyright  secured. 


86  BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE" 

THE  FAMOUS  "BOOZE"  SERMON 

Here  we  have  one  of  the  strangest  scenes  in  all  the 
Gospels.  Two  men,  possessed  of  devils,  confront  Jesus, 
and  wliile  the  devils  are  crying  out  for  Jesus  to  leave  them, 
he  commands  the  devils  to  come  out,  and  the  devils  obey 
the  command  of  Jesus.  The  devils  ask  permission  to  entei 
into  a  herd  of  swine  feeding  on  the  hillside.  This  is  the  only 
record  we  have  of  Jesus  ever  granting  the  petition  of  devils, 
and  he  did  it  for  the  salvation  of  men. 

Then  the  fellows  that  kept  the  hogs  went  back  to  town 
and  told  the  peanut-brained,  weasel-eyed,  hog-jowled,  beetle- 
browed,  bull-necked  lobsters  that  owned  the  hogs,  that 
"a  long-haired  fanatic  from  Nazareth,  named  Jesus,  has 
driven  the  devils  out  of  some  men  and  the  devils  have  gone 
into  the  hogs,  and  the  hogs  into  the  sea,  and  the  sea  into  the 
hogs,  and  the  whole  bunch  is  dead." 

And  then  the  fat,  fussy  old  fellows  came  out  to  see 
Jesus  and  said  that  he  was  hurting  their  business.  A 
fellow  says  to  me,  "I  don't  think  Jesus  Christ  did  a  nice 
thmg." 

You  don't  know  what  you  are  talking  about. 

Down  in  Nashville,  Tennessee,  I  saw  four  wagons  going 
down  the  street,  and  they  were  loaded  with  stills,  and  kettles, 
and  pipes. 

"What's  this?"  I  said. 

"United  States  revenue  officers,  and  they  have  been  in 
the  moonshine  district  and  confiscated  the  illicit  stills,  and 
they  are  taking  them  down  to  the  government  scrap 
heap." 

Jesus  Christ  was  God's  revenue  officer.  Now  the  Jews 
were  forbidden  to  eat  pork,  but  Jesus  Christ  came  and  found 
that  crowd  buying  and  selling  and  dealing  in  pork,  and  con- 
fiscated the  whole  business,  and  he  kept  within  the  limits 
of  the  law  when  he  did  it.  Then  the  fellows  ran  back  to 
those  who  owned  the  hogs  to  tell  what  had  befallen  them 
and  those  hog-owners  said  to  Jesus:  "Take  your  helpers 
und  hike.    You  are  hurting  our  business."    And  they  looked 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  87 

into  the  sea  and  the  hogs  were  bottom  side  up,  but  Jesus 
said,  "What  is  the  matter?" 

And  they  answered,  "  Leave  our  hogs  and  go."  A  fellow 
says  it  is  rather  a  strange  request  for  the  devils  to  make, 
to  ask  permission  to  enter  into  hogs.  I  don't  know — ^if 
I  was  a  devil  I  would  rather  hve  in  a  good,  decent  hog  than 
in  lots  of  men.  If  you  will  drive  the  hog  out  you  won't 
have  to  carry  slop  to  him,  so  I  will  try  to  help  you  get  rid 
of  the  hog. 

And  they  told  Jesus  to  leave  the  country.  They  said: 
"You  are  hurting  our  business." 

Interest  in  Manhood 

"Have  you  no  interest  in  manhood?" 

"We  have  no  interest  in  that;  just  take  your  disciples 
and  leave,  for  you  are  hurting  oiu*  business." 

That  is  the  attitude  of  the  liquor  traffic  toward  the 
Church,  and  State,  and  Government,  and  the  preacher  that 
has  the  backbone  to  fight  the  most  damnable,  corrupt 
institution  that  ever  wriggled  out  of  hell  and  fastened  itself 
on  the  public. 

I  am  a  temperance  Republican  down  to  my  toes.  Who 
is  the  man  that  fights  the  whisky  business  in  the  South? 
It  is  the  Democrats !  They  have  driven  the  business  from 
Kansas,  they  have  driven  it  from  Georgia,  and  Maine  and 
Mississippi  and  North  Carolina  and  North  Dakota  and 
Oklahoma  and  Tennessee  and  West  Virginia.  And  they 
have  driven  it  out  of  1,756  counties.  And  it  is  the  rock- 
ribbed  Democratic  South  that  is  fighting  the  saloon.  They 
started  this  fight  that  is  sweeping  like  fire  over  the  United 
States.  You  might  as  well  try  and  dam  Niagara  Falls  with 
toothpicks  as  to  stop  the  reform  wave  sweeping  our  land. 
The  Democratic  party  of  Florida  has  put  a  temperance 
plank  in  its  platform  and  the  Republican  party  of  every 
state  would  nail  that  plank  in  their  platform  if  they  thought 
it  would  carry  the  election.  It  is  simply  a  matter  of  decency 
and  manhood,  irrespective  of  politics.     It  is  prosperity 


88  BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE*^ 

against  poverty,  sobriety  against  drunkenness,  honesty 
against  thieving,  heaven  against  hell.  Don't  you  want  to 
see  men  sober?  Brutal,  staggering  men  transformed  into 
respectable  citizens?  "No,"  said  a  saloonkeeper,  'Ho  hell 
with  men.  We  are  interested  in  our  business,  we  have  no 
interest  in  humanity." 

After  all  is  said  that  can  be  said  upon  the  Hquor  traffic, 
its  influence  is  degrading  upon  the  individual,  the  family, 
poUtics  and  business,  and  upon  everything  that  you  touch 
in  this  old  world.  For  the  time  has  long  gone  by  when  there 
is  any  ground  for  arguments  as  to  its  ill  effects.  All  are 
agreed  on  that  point.  There  is  just  one  prime  reason  why  the 
saloon  has  not  been  knocked  into  hell,  and  that  is  the  false 
statement  that  "the  saloons  are  needed  to  help  lighten  the 
taxes."  The  saloon  business  has  never  paid,  and  it  has  cost 
fifty  times  more  than  the  revenue  derived  from  it. 

Does  the  Saloon  Help  Business? 

I  challenge  you  to  show  me  where  the  saloon  has  ever 
helped  business,  education,  church,  morals  or  anything  we 
hold  dear. 

The  wholesale  and  retail  trade  in  Iowa  pays  every  year 
at  least  $500,000  in  licenses.  Then  if  there  were  no  draw- 
back it  ought  to  reduce  the  taxation  twenty-five  cents  per 
capita.  If  the  saloon  is  necessary  to  pay  the  taxes,  and  if 
they  pay  $500,000  in  taxes,  it  ought  to  reduce  them  twenty- 
five  cents  a  head.  But  no,  the  whisky  business  has  increased 
taxes  $1,000,000  instead  of  reducing  them,  and  I  defy  any 
whisky  man  on  God's  dirt  to  show  me  one  town  that  has 
the  saloon  where  the  taxes  are  lower  than  where  they  do 
not  have  the  saloon.     I  defy  you  to  show  me  an  instance. 

Listen!  Seventy-five  per  cent  of  our  idiots  come  from 
intemperate  parents;  eighty  per  cent  of  the  paupers,  eighty- 
two  per  cent  of  the  crime  is  committed  by  men  under  the 
influence  of  liquor;  ninety  per  cent  of  the  adult  criminals 
are  whisky-made.  The  Chicago  Tribune  kept  track  for 
ten  years  and  foimd  that  53,556  murders  were  committed 
by  men  under  the  influence  of  liquor. 


BATTLING  WITH  *' BOOZE**  89 

Archbishop  Ireland,  the  famous  Roman  Catholic,  of 
St.  Paul,  said  of  social  crime  today,  that  "seventy-five 
per  cent  is  caused  by  drink,  and  eighty  per  cent  of  the 
poverty." 

I  go  to  a  family  and  it  is  broken  up,  and  I  say,  "What 
caused  this?"  Drink!  I  step  up  to  a  yoimg  man  on  the 
scaffold  and  say,  "What  brought  you  here?"  Drink! 
Whence  all  the  misery  and  sorrow  and  corruption?  Inva- 
riably it  is  drink. 

Five  Points,  in  New  York,  was  a  spot  as  near  like  hell 
as  any  spot  on  earth.  There  are  five  streets  that  run  to 
this  point,  and  right  in  the  middle  was  an  old  brewery  and 
the  streets  on  either  side  were  lined  with  grog  shops.  The 
newspapers  turned  a  searchhght  on  the  district,  and  the  first 
thing  they  had  to  do  was  to  buy  the  old  brewery  and  turn 
it  into  a  mission. 

The  Parent  of  Crimes 

The  saloon  is  the  sum  of  all  villanies.  It  is  worse  than 
war  or  pestilence.  It  is  the  crime  of  crimes.  It  is  the 
parent  of  crimes  and  the  mother  of  sins.  It  is  the  appalling 
source  of  misery  and  crime  in  the  land.  And  to  Hcense 
such  an  incarnate  fiend  of  hell  is  the  dirtiest,  low-down, 
damnable  business  on  top  of  this  old  earth.  There  is 
nothing  to  be  compared  to  it. 

The  legislature  of  Illinois  appropriated  $6,000,000  in 
1908  to  take  care  of  the  insane  people  in  the  state,  and  the 
whisky  business  produces  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the 
insane.  That  is  what  you  go  down  in  your  pockets  for  to 
help  support.  Do  away  with  the  saloons  and  you  will 
close  these  institutions.  The  saloons  make  them  necessary, 
and  they  make  the  poverty  and  fill  the  jails  and  the  peni- 
tentiaries. Who  has  to  pay  the  bills?  The  landlord  who 
doesn't  get  the  rent  because  the  money  goes  for  whisky; 
the  butcher  and  the  grocer  and  the  charitable  person  who 
takes  pity  on  the  children  of  drunkards,  and  the  taxpayer 
who  supports  the  insane  asylums  and  other  institutions, 
that  the  whisky  business  keeps  full  of  human  wrecks. 


go  BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE" 

Do  away  with  the  cursed  business  and  you  will  not  have 
to  put  up  to  support  them.  Who  gets  the  money?  The 
saloon-keepers  and  the  brewers,  and  the  distillers,  while 
the  whisky  fills  the  land  with  misery,  and  poverty,  and 
wretchedness,  and  disease,  and  death,  and  damnation,  and 
it  is  being  authorized  by  the  will  of  the  sovereign  people. 

You  say  that  ''people  will  drink  anyway."  Not  by  my 
vote.  You  say,  "Men  will  murder  their  wives  anyway." 
Not  by  my  vote.  "They  will  steal  anyway."  Not  by  my 
vote.  You  are  the  sovereign  people,  and  what  are  you 
going  to  do  about  it? 

Let  me  assemble  before  your  minds  the  bodies  of  the 
di'unken  dead,  who  crawl  away  "into  the  jaws  of  death, 
into  the  mouth  of  hell,"  and  then  out  of  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  the  drink  let  me  call  the  appertaining  mother- 
hood, and  wifehood,  and  childhood,  and  let  their  tears  rain 
down  upon  their  purple  faces.  Do  you  think  that  would 
stop  the  curse  of  the  hquor  traffic?     No!  No! 

In  these  days  when  the  question  of  saloon  or  no  saloon 
is  at  the  fore  in  almost  every  community,  one  hears  a  good 
deal  about  what  is  called  "personal  liberty."  These  are 
fuie,  large,  mouth-filling  words,  and  they  certainly  do  sound 
first  rate;  but  when  you  get  right  down  and  analyze  them 
in  the  light  of  common  old  horse-sense,  you  will  discover 
that  in  their  application  to  the  present  controversy  they 
mean  just  about  this :  "Personal  liberty  "  is  for  the  man  who, 
if  he  has  the  inclination  and  the  price,  can  stand  up  at  a  bar 
and  fill  his  hide  so  full  of  red  Uquor  that  he  is  transformed 
for  the  time  being  into  an  irresponsible,  dangerous,  evil- 
smelUng  brute.  But  "personal  liberty"  is  not  for  his 
patient,  long-suffering  wife,  who  has  to  endure  with  what 
fortitude  she  may  his  blows  and  curses;  nor  is  it  for  his 
children,  who,  if  they  escape  his  insane  rage,  are  yet  robbed 
of  every  known  joy  and  privilege  of  childhood,  and  too  often 
grow  up  neglected,  uncared  for  and  vicious  as  the  result 
of  their  surroundings  and  the  example  before  them.  "Per- 
sonal liberty"  is  not  for  the  sober,  industrious  citizen  who 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  91 

from  the  proceeds  of  honest  toil  and  orderly  living,  has  to 
pay,  willingly  or  not,  the  tax  bills  which  pile  up  as  a  direct 
result  of  drunkenness,  disorder  and  poverty,  the  items 
of  which  are  written  in  the  records  of  every  police  court  and 
poor-house  in  the  land;  nor  is  "personal  liberty"  for  the  good 
woman  who  goes  abroad  in  the  town  only  at  the  risk  of  being 
shot  down  by  some  drink-crazed  creature.  This  rant  about 
"personal  liberty"  as  an  argument  has  no  leg  to  stand 
upon. 

The  Economic  Side 

Now,  in  1913  the  corn  crop  was  2,373,000,000  bushels, 
and  it  was  valued  at  $1,660,000,000.  Secretary  Wilson  says 
that  the  breweries  use  less  than  two  per  cent ;  I  will  say  that 
they  use  two  per  cent.  That  would  make  47,000,000 
bushels,  and  at  seventy  cents  a  bushel  that  would  be  about 
$33,000,000.  How  many  people  are  there  in  the  United 
States?  Ninety  milUons.  Very  well,  then,  that  is  thirty- 
six  cents  per  capita.  Then  we  sold  out  to  the  whisky 
business  for  thirty-six  cents  apiece — the  price  of  a  dozen 
eggs  or  a  pound  of  butter.  We  are  the  cheapest  gang  this 
side  of  hell  if  we  will  do  that  kind  of  business. 

Now  listen !  Last  year  the  income  of  the  United  States 
government,  and  the  cities  and  towns  and  counties,  from  the 
whisky  business  was  $350,000,000.  That  is  putting  it 
liberally.  You  say  that's  a  lot  of  money.  Well,  last  year 
the  workingmen  spent  $2,000,000,000  for  drink,  and  it  cost 
$1,200,000,000  to  care  for  the  judicial  machinery.  In  other 
words,  the  whisky  business  cost  us  last  year  $3,400,000,000. 
I  will  subtract  from  that  the  dirty  $350,000,000  which  we 
got,  and  it  leaves  $3,050,000,000  in  favor  of  knocking  the 
whisky  business  out  on  purely  a  money  basis.  And  listen! 
We  spend  $6,000,000,000  a  year  for  our  paupers  and  criminals 
insane,  orphans,  feeble-minded,  etc.,  and  eighty-two  per 
cent  of  our  criminals  are  whisky-made,  and  seventy-five 
per  cent  of  the  paupers  are  whisky-made.  The  average 
factory  hand  earns  $450  a  year,  and  it  costs  us  $1,200  a  year 


92  BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE" 

to  support  each  of  our  whisky  criminals.  There  are  326,000 
enrolled  criminals  in  the  United  States  and  80,000  in  jails 
and  penitentiaries.  Three-fourths  were  sent  there  because 
of  drink,  and  then  they  have  the  audacity  to  say  the  saloon 
is  needed  for  money  revenue.  Never  was  there  a  baser  lie. 
"But,"  says  the  whisky  fellow,  "we  would  lose  trade; 
the  farmer  would  not  come  to  town  to  trade."  You  he. 
I  am  a  farmer.  I  was  born  and  raised  on  a  farm  and  I  have 
the  malodors  of  the  barnyard  on  me  today.  Yes,  sir.  And 
when  you  say  that  you  insult  the  best  class  of  men  on  God's 
dirt.  Say,  when  you  put  up  the  howl  that  if  you  don't 
have  the  saloons  the  farmer  won't  trade — say,  Mr.  Whisky 
Man,  why  do  you  dump  money  into  poUtics  and  back  the 
legislatures  into  the  corner  and  fight  to  the  last  ditch  to 
prevent  the  enactment  of  county  local  option?  You  know 
if  the  farmers  were  given  a  chance  they  would  knock  the 
whisky  business  into  hell  the  first  throw  out  of  the  box. 
You  are  afraid.  You  have  cold  feet  on  the  proposition. 
You  are  afraid  to  give  the  farmer  a  chance.  They  are  scared 
to  death  of  you  farmers. 

I  heard  my  friend  ex-Governor  Hanly,  of  Indiana,  use 
the  following  illustrations : 

"Oh,  but,"  they  say,  "Governor,  there  is  another  danger 
to  the  local  option,  because  it  means  a  loss  of  market  to  the 
farmer.  We  are  consumers  of  large  quantities  of  grain  in 
the  manufacture  of  om*  products.  If  you  drive  us  out  of 
business  you  strike  down  that  market  and  it  will  create  a 
money  panic  in  this  country,  such  as  you  have  never  seen, 
if  you  do  that."  I  might  answer  it  by  saying  that  less  than 
two  per  cent  of  the  grain  produced  in  this  country  is  used  for 
that  purpose,  but  I  pass  that  by.  I  want  to  debate  the  merit 
of  the  statement  itself,  and  I  think  I  can  demonstrate  in 
ten  minutes  to  any  thoughtful  man,  to  any  farmer,  that  the 
brewer  who  furnishes  him  a  market  for  a  bushel  of  corn  is 
not  his  benefactor,  or  the  benefactor  of  any  man,  from  an 
economic  standpoint.  Let  us  see.  A  farmer  brings  to  the 
brewer  a  bushel  of  com.     He  finds  a  market  for  it.     He 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE**  OS 

gets  fifty  cents  and  goes  his  way,  with  the  statement  of  the 
brewer  ringing  in  his  ears,  that  the  brewer  is  the  benefactor. 
But  you  haven't  got  all  the  factors  in  the  problem,  Mr. 
Brewer,  and  you  cannot  get  a  correct  solution  of  a  problem 
without  all  the  factors  in  the  problem.  You  take  the 
farmer's  bushel  of  com,  brewer  or  distiller,  and  you  brew 
and  distill  from  it  four  and  one-half  gallons  of  spirits.  I 
don't  know  how  much  he  dilutes  them  before  he  puts  them 
on  the  market.  Only  the  brewer,  the  distiller  and  God 
know.  The  man  who  drinks  it  doesn't,  but  if  he  doesn't 
dilute  it  at  all,  he  puts  on  the  market  four  and  a  half  gallons 
of  intoxicating  Uquor,  thirty-six  pints.  I  am  not  going 
to  trace  the  thirty-six  pints.  It  will  take  too  long.  But 
I  want  to  trace  three  of  them  and  I  will  give  you  no 
imaginary  stories  plucked  from  the  brain  of  an  excited 
orator.  I  will  take  instances  from  the  judicial  pages  of  the 
Supreme  Court  and  the  Circuit  Coiu"t  judges'  reports  in 
Indiana  and  in  Ilhnois  to  make  my  case. 

Tragedies  Bom  of  Drink 

Several  years  ago  in  the  city  of  Chicago  a  young  man 
of  good  parents,  good  character,  one  Sunday  crossed  the 
street  and  entered  a  saloon,  open  against  the  law.  He  found 
there  boon  companions.  There  were  laughter,  song  and 
jest  and  much  drinking.  After  awhile,  dnmk,  insanely 
drunk,  his  money  gone,  he  was  kicked  into  the  street.  He 
found  his  way  across  to  his  mother's  home.  He  importuned 
her  for  money  to  buy  more  drink.  She  refused  him.  He 
seized  from  the  sideboard  a  revolver  and  ran  out  into  the 
street  and  with  the  expressed  determination  of  entering  the 
saloon  and  getting  more  drink,  money  or  no  money.  His 
fond  mother  followed  him  into  the  street.  She  put  her  hand 
upon  him  in  a  loving  restraint.  He  struck  it  from  him  in 
anger,  and  then  his  sister  came  and  added  her  entreaty  in 
vain.  And  then  a  neighbor,  whom  he  knew,  trusted  and 
i*espected,  came  and  put  his  hand  on  him  in  gentleness  and 
friendly  kindness,  but  in  an  insanity  of  drunken  rage  he 


94  BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE" 

raised  the  revolver  and  shot  his  friend  dead  in  his  blood 
upon  the  street.  There  was  a  trial;  he  was  found  guilty 
of  murder.  He  was  sentenced  to  life  imprisonment,  and 
when  the  Httle  mother  heard  the  verdict — a  frail  httle  bit 
of  a  woman — she  threw  up  her  hands  and  fell  in  a  swoon. 
In  three  hours  she  was  dead. 

In  the  streets  of  Freeport,  Illinois,  a  young  man  of  good 
family  became  involved  in  a  controversy  with  a  lewd 
woman  of  the  town.  He  went  in  a  drunken  frenzy  to  his 
father's  home,  armed  himseK  with  a  deadly  weapon  and  set 
out  for  the  city  in  search  of  the  woman  with  whom  he  had 
quarreled.  The  first  person  he  met  upon  the  public  square 
in  the  city,  in  the  dayUght,  in  a  place  where  she  had  a  right 
to  be,  was  one  of  the  most  refined  and  cultured  women  of 
Freeport.  She  carried  in  her  arms  her  babe — motherhood 
and  babyhood,  upon  the  streets  of  Freeport  in  the  day  time, 
where  they  had  a  right  to  be — ^but  this  young  man  in  his 
drunken  insanity  mistook  her  for  the  woman  he  sought  and 
shot  her  dead  upon  the  streets  with  her  babe  in  her  arms. 
He  was  tried  and  Judge  Ferand,  in  sentencing  him  to  life 
imprisonment  said:  "You  are  the  seventh  man  in  two  years 
to  be  sentenced  for  murder  while  intoxicated." 

In  the  city  of  Anderson,  you  remember  the  tragedy  in 
the  Blake  home.  A  young  man  came  home  intoxicated, 
demanding  money  of  his  mother.  She  refused  it.  He 
seized  from  the  wood  box  a  hatchet  and  killed  his  mother 
and  then  robbed  her.  You  remember  he  fled.  The  officer 
of  the  law  pursued  him  and  brought  him  back.  An  indict- 
ment was  read  to  him  charging  him  with  the  murder  of  the 
mother  who  had  given  him  his  birth,  of  her  who  had  gone 
down  into  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  to  give  him  life, 
of  her  who  had  looked  down  into  his  blue  eyes  and  thanked 
God  for  his  Ufe.  And  he  said,  *'I  am  guilty;  I  did  it  all." 
And  Judge  McClure  sentenced  him  to  life  imprisonment. 

Now  I  have  followed  probably  three  of  the  thirty-six 
pints  of  the  farmer's  product  of  a  bushel  of  corn  and  the 
three  of  them  have  struck  down  seven  fives,  the  three  boys 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  05 

who  committed  the  murders,  the  three  persons  who  were 
killed  and  the  httle  mother  who  died  of  a  broken  heart. 
And  now,  I  want  to  know,  my  farmer  friend,  if  this  has  been 
a  good  commercial  transaction  for  you?  You  sold  a  bushel 
of  corn;  you  found  a  market;  you  got  fifty  cents;  but  a 
fraction  of  this  product  struck  down  seven  hves,  all  of  whom 
would  have  been  consumers  of  your  products  for  their  life 
expectancy.  And  do  you  mean  to  say  that  is  a  good  eco- 
nomic transaction  to  you?  That  disposes  of  the  market 
question  until  it  is  answered;  let  no  man  argue  further. 

More  Economics 

And  say,  my  friends,  New  York  City's  annual  drink  bill 
is  $365,000,000  a  year,  $1,000,000  a  day.  Listen  a  nunute. 
That  is  four  times  the  annual  output  of  gold,  and  six  times 
the  value  of  all  the  silver  mined  in  the  United  States.  And 
in  New  York  there  is  one  saloon  for  every  thirty  families. 
The  money  spent  in  New  York  by  the  working  people  for 
drink  in  ten  years  would  buy  every  working  man  in  New 
York  a  beautiful  home,  allowing  $3,500  for  house  and  lot. 
It  would  take  fifty  persons  one  year  to  count  the  money  in 
$1  bills,  and  they  would  cover  10,000  acres  of  ground.  That 
is  what  the  people  in  New  York  dump  into  the  whisky  hole 
in  one  year.  And  then  you  wonder  why  there  is  poverty 
and  crime,  and  that  the  country  is  not  more  prosperous. 

The  whisky  gang  is  circulating  a  circular  about  Kansas 
City,  Kansas.  I  defy  you  to  prove  a  statement  in  it.  Kansas 
City  is  a  town  of  100,000  population,  and  temperance  went 
into  effect  July  1,  1905.  Then  they  had  250  saloons, 
200  gambling  hells  and  60  houses  of  ill  fame.  The  popula- 
tion was  largely  foreign,  and  inquiries  have  come  from 
Germany,  Sweden  and  Norway,  asking  the  influence  of 
the  enforcement  of  the  prohibitory  law. 

At  the  end  of  one  year  the  president  of  one  of  the  largest 
banks  in  that  city,  a  man  who  protested  against  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  prohibitory  law  on  the  ground  that  it  would 
hurt  business,  found  that  his  bank  deposits  had  increased 


96  BATTLING  WITH  "  BOOZE '^ 

$1,700,000,  and  seventy-two  per  cent  of  the  deposits  were 
from  men  who  had  never  saved  a  cent  before,  and  forty-two 
per  cent  came  from  men  who  never  had  a  dollar  in  the  bank, 
but  because  the  saloons  were  driven  out  they  had  a  chance 
to  save,  and  the  people  who  objected  on  the  grounds  that 
it  would  injure  business  found  an  increase  of  209  per  cent 
in  building  operations;  and,  furthermore,  there  were  three 
times  as  many  more  people  seeking  investment,  and  court 
expenses  decreased  $25,000  in  one  year. 

Who  pays  to  feed  and  keep  the  gang  you  have  in  jail? 
Why,  you  go  down  in  your  sock  and  pay  for  what  the  saloon 
has  dumped  in  there.  They  don't  do  it.  Mr.  Whisky  Man, 
why  don't  you  go  down  and  take  a  picture  of  wrecked  and 
bhghted  homes,  and  of  insane  asylums,  with  gibbering 
idiots.    Why  don't  you  take  a  picture  of  that? 

At  Kansas  City,  Kansas,  before  the  saloons  were  closed, 
they  were  getting  ready  to  build  an  addition  to  the  jail. 
Now  the  doors  swing  idly  on  the  hinges  and  there  is  nobody 
to  lock  in  the  jails.  And  the  commissioner  of  the  Poor 
Farm  says  there  is  a  wonderful  falling  off  of  old  men  and 
women  coming  to  the  Poor  House,  because  their  sons  and 
daughters  are  saving  their  money  and  have  quit  spending 
it  for  drink.  And  they  had  to  employ  eighteen  new  school 
teachers  for  600  boys  and  girls,  between  the  ages  of  twelve 
and  eighteen,  that  had  never  gone  to  school  before  because 
they  had  to  help  a  dnmken  father  support  the  family. 
And  they  have  just  set  aside  $200,000  to  build  a  new  school 
house,  and  the  bonded  indebtedness  was  reduced  $245,000 
in  one  year  without  the  saloon  revenue.  And  don't  you 
know  another  thing:  In  1906,  when  they  had  the  saloon, 
the  population,  according  to  the  directory,  was  89,655. 
According  to  the  census  of  1907  the  population  was  100,835,  or 
an  increase  of  twelve  per  cent  in  one  year,  without  the  grog- 
shop.    In  two  years  the  bank  deposits  increased  $3,930,000. 

You  say,  drive  out  the  saloon  and  you  kill  business — 
Ha!  ha!    "Blessed  are  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord." 

I  tell  you,  gentlemen,  the  American  home  is  the  dearest 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  97 

heritage  of  the  people,  for  the  people,  and  by  the  people, 
and  when  a  man  can  go  from  home  in  the  morning  with  the 
kisses  of  wife  and  children  on  his  hps,  and  come  back  at 
night  with  an  empty  dinner  bucket  to  a  happy  home,  that 
man  is  a  better  man,  whether  white  or  black.  Whatever 
takes  away  the  comforts  of  Lome — whatever  degrades  that 
man  or  woman — whatever  invades  the  sanctity  of  the  home, 
is  the  deadliest  foe  to  the  home,  to  chiu'ch,  to  state  and  school, 
and  the  saloon  is  the  deadliest  foe  to  the  home,  the  chm-ch 
and  the  state,  on  top  of  God  Almighty's  dirt.  And  if  all 
the  combined  forces  of  hell  should  assemble  in  conclave, 
and  with  them  all  the  men  on  earth  that  hate  and  despise 
God,  and  purity,  and  virtue — if  all  the  scum  of  the  earth 
could  mingle  with  the  denizens  of  hell  to  try  to  think  of  the 
deadliest  institution  to  home,  to  chiurch  and  state,  I  tell  you, 
sir,  the  combined  hellish  intelligence  could  not  conceive  of 
or  bring  an  institution  that  could  touch  the  hem  of  the 
garment  of  the  open  hcensed  saloon  to  damn  the  home  and 
manhood,  and  womanhood,  and  business  and  every  other 
good  thing  on  God's  earth. 

In  the  Island  of  Jamaica  the  rats  increased  so  that  they 
destroyed  the  crops,  and  they  introduced  a  mongoose,  which 
is  a  species  of  the  coon.  They  have  three  breeding  seasons 
a  year  and  there  are  twelve  to  fifteen  in  each  brood,  and  they 
are  deadly  enemies  of  the  rats.  The  result  was  that  the  rats 
disappeared  and  there  was  nothing  more  for  the  mongoose 
to  feed  upon,  so  they  attacked  the  snakes,  and  the  frogs, 
and  the  Uzards  that  fed  upon  the  insects,  with  the  result 
that  the  insects  increased  and  they  stripped  th«  gardens, 
eating  up  the  onions  and  the  lettuce  and  then  the  mongoose 
attacked  the  sheep  and  the  cats,  and  the  puppies,  and  the 
calves  and  the  geese.  Now  Jamaica  is  spending  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  dollars  to  get  rid  of  the  mongoose. 

The  American  Mongoose 

The  American  mongoose  is  the  open  licensed  saloon. 
It  eats  the  carpets  off  the  floor  ^nd  the  clothes  from  off 


96  BATTLING  WITH  ^* BOOZE" 

your  back,  your  money  out  of  the  bank,  and  it  eats  up 
character,  and  it  goes  on  until  at  last  it  leaves  a  stranded 
wreck  in  the  home,  a  skeleton  of  what  was  once  brightness 
and  happiness. 

There  were  some  men  playing  cards  on  a  railroad  train, 
and  one  fellow  pulled  out  a  whisky  flask  and  passed  it  about, 
and  when  it  came  to  the  drummer  he  said,  "No."  "What," 
they  said,  "have  you  got  on  the  water  wagon?"  and  they  all 
laughed  at  him.  He  said,  "You  can  laugh  if  you  want  to, 
but  I  was  bom  with  an  appetite  for  drink,  and  for  years  1 
have  taken  from  five  to  ten  glasses  per  day,  but  I  was  at 
home  in  Chicago  not  long  ago  and  I  have  a  friend  who  has 
a  pawn  shop  there.  I  was  in  there  when  in  came  a  young 
fellow  with  ashen  cheeks  and  a  wild  look  on  his  face.  He 
came  up  trembling,  threw  down  a  little  package  and  said, 
'Give  me  ten  cents.'  And  what  do  you  think  was  in  that 
package?    It  was  a  pair  of  baby  shoes. 

"My  friend  said,  'No,  I  cannot  take  them.* 
" '  But,'  he  said, '  give  me  a  dime.     I  must  have  a  drink.' 
"  'No,  take  them  back  home,  your  baby  will  need  them.' 
"  And  the  poor  fellow  said, '  My  baby  is  dead,  and  I  want 
a  drink.'  " 

Boys,  I  don't  blame  you  for  the  lump  that  comes  up  in 
your  throat.  There  is  no  law,  divine  or  human,  that  the 
saloon  respects.  Lincoln  said,  "If  slavery  is  not  wrong, 
nothing  is  wrong."  I  say,  if  the  saloon,  with  its  train  of 
diseases,  crime  and  misery,  is  not  wrong,  then  nothing  on 
earth  is  wrong.  If  the  fight  is  to  be  won  we  need  men — 
men  that  will  fight — the  Church,  Catholic  and  Protestant, 
must  fight  it  or  run  away,  and  thank  God  she  will  not  run 
away,  but  fight  to  the  last  ditch. 

Who  works  the  hardest  for  his  money,  the  saloon  man 
or  you? 

Who  has  the  most  money  Simday  morning,  the  saloon 
man  or  you? 

The  saloon  comes  as  near  being  a  rat  hole  for  a  wage- 
earner  to  dump  his  wages  in  as  anything  you  can  find 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  99 

The  only  interest  it  pays  is  red  eyes  and  foul  breath,  and  the 
loss  of  health.  You  can  go  in  with  money  and  you  come  out 
with  empty  pockets.  You  go  in  with  character  and  you 
come  out  ruined.  You  go  in  with  a  good  position  and  you 
lose  it.  You  lose  your  position  in  the  bank,  or  in  the  cab 
of  the  locomotive.  And  it  pays  nothing  back  but  disease 
and  damnation  and  gives  an  extra  dividend  in  dehrium 
tremens  and  a  free  pass  to  hell.  And  then  it  will  let  your 
wife  be  biuied  in  the  potter's  field,  and  your  children  go  to 
the  asylum,  and  yet  you  walk  out  and  say  the  saloon  is  a 
good  institution,  when  it  is  the  dirtiest  thing  on  earth.  It 
hasn't  one  leg  to  stand  on  and  has  nothing  to  commend  it  to 
a  decent  man,  not  one  thing. 

"But,"  you  say,  "we  will  regulate  it  by  high  license." 
Regulate  what  by  high  license?  You  might  as  well  try  and 
regulate  a  powder  mill  in  hell.  Do  you  want  to  pay  taxes 
in  boys,  or  dirty  money?  A  man  that  will  sell  out  to  that 
dirty  business  I  have  no  use  for.  See  how  absurd  their  argu- 
ments are.  If  you  drink  Bourbon  in  a  saloon  that  pays 
$1,000  a  year  license,  will  it  eat  your  stomach  less  than  if 
you  drink  it  in  a  saloon  that  pays  $500  Ucense?  Is  it  going 
to  have  any  diiBferent  effect  on  you,  whether  the  gang  pays 
$500  or  $1,000  hcense?  No.  It  will  make  no  difference 
whether  you  drink  it  over  a  mahogany  counter  or  a  pine 
counter — it  will  have  the  same  effect  on  you;  it  will  damn 
you.     So  there  is  no  use  talking  about  it. 

In  some  insane  asylums,  do  you  know  what  they  do? 
When  they  want  to  test  some  patient  to  see  whether  he  has 
recovered  his  reason,  they  have  a  room  with  a  faucet  in  it, 
and  a  cement  floor,  and  they  give  the  patient  a  mop  and  tell 
him  to  mop  up  the  floor.  And  if  he  has  sense  enough  to 
turn  off  the  faucet  and  mop  up  the  floor  they  will  parole  him, 
but  should  he  let  the  faucet  run,  they  know  that  he  is  crazy. 

Well,  that  is  what  you  are  trying  to  do.  You  are  trying 
to  mop  it  up  with  taxes  and  insane  asylums  and  jails  and 
Keeley  cures,  and  reformatories.  The  only  thing  to  do  is 
to  shut  off  the  source  of  supply. 

A  man    was    delivering  a  temperance  address  at   a 


100 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE" 


fair  grounds  and  a  fellow  came  up  to  him  and  said:  "Are 
you  the  fellow  that  gave  a  talk  on  temperance?" 
"Yes." 

"Well,  I  think  that  the  managers  did  a  dirty  piece  of 
business  to  let  you  give  a  lectiu-e  on  temperance.  You  have 
hurt  my  business  and  my  business  is  a  legal  one." 

"You  are  right  there,"  said  the  lecturer,  "they  did  do  a 
mean  trick;  I  would  complain  to  the  officers."  And  he 
took  up  a  premium  list  and  said:  "By  the  way,  I  see  there 

is  a  premium  of  so 
much  offered  for  the 
best  horse  and  cow 
and  butter.  What 
business  are  you  in?" 
"I'm  in  the  liquor 
business." 

"WeU,  I  don't  see 
that  they  offer  any  pre- 
mium for  your  busi* 
ness.  You  ought  to 
go  down  and  compel 
them  to  offer  a  pre- 
mium for  your  busi- 
ness and  they  ought  to 
offer  on  the  list  $25 
for  the  best  wrecked  home,  $15  for  the  best  bloated  bum 
that  you  can  show,  and  $10  for  the  finest  specimen  of 
broken-hearted  wife,  and  they  ought  to  give  $25  for  the  finest 
specimens  of  thieves  and  gamblers  you  can  trot  out.  You 
can  bring  out  the  finest  looking  criminals.  If  you  have 
something  that  is  good  trot  it  out.  You  ought  to  come  in 
competition  with  the  farmer,  with  his  stock,  and  the  fancy 
work,  and  the  canned  fruit." 

The  Saloon  a  Coward 

As  Dr.  Howard  said:  "I  tell  you  that  the  saloon  is  a 
coward.     It  hides  itself  behind  stained-glass   doors   and 


"Should  Hb  Let  the  Faucet  Run,  They 
Know  that  He  is  Crazy  " 


"I'll  Fight  to  the  Last  Ditch,  this  Hellish  Traffic." 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  101 

opaque  windows,  and  sneaks  its  customers  in  at  a  blind  door, 
and  it  keeps  a  sentinel  to  guard  the  door  from  the  ofl&cers  of 
the  law,  and  it  marks  its  wares  with  false  bills-of-lading, 
and  offers  to  ship  green  goods  to  you  and  marks  them  with 
the  name  of  wholesome  articles  of  food  so  people  won't 
know  what  is  being  sent  to  you.  And  so  vile  did  that  busi- 
ness get  that  the  legislature  of  Indiana  passed  a  law  forbid- 
ding a  saloon. to  ship  goods  without  being  properly  labeled. 
And  the  United  States  Congress  passed  a  law  forbidding 
them  to  send  whisky  through  the  mails. 

I  tell  you  it  strikes  in  the  night.  It  fighis  under  cover 
of  darkness  and  assassinates  the  characters  that  it  cannot 
damn,  and  it  lies  about  you.  It  attacks  defenseless  woman- 
hood and  cliildhood.  The  saloon  is  a  coward.  It  is  a  thief; 
it  is  not  an  ordinary  court  offender  that  steals  your  money, 
but  it  robs  j'^ou  of  manhood  and  leaves  you  in  rags  and  takes 
away  your  friends,  and  it  robs  your  family.  It  impoverishes 
your  children  and  it  brings  insanity  and  suicide.  It  will 
take  the  shirt  off  your  back  and  it  will  steal  the  coffin  from 
a  dead  child  and  yank  the  last  crust  of  bread  out  of  the  hand 
of  the  starving  child;  it  will  take  the  last  bucket  of  coal  out 
of  your  cellar,  and  the  last  cent  out  of  your  pocket,  and  will 
send  you  home  bleary-eyed  and  staggering  to  your  wife 
and  children.  It  will  steal  the  milk  from  the  breast  of  the 
mother  and  leave  her  with  nothing  with  which  to  feed  her 
infant.  It  will  take  the  virtue  from  your  daughter.  It  is 
the  dirtiest,  most  low-down,  damnable  business  that  ever 
crawled  out  of  the  pit  of  hell.  It  is  a  sneak,  and  a  thief  and 
a  coward. 

It  is  an  infidel.  It  has  no  faith  in  God;  has  no  religion. 
It  would  close  every  church  in  the  land.  It  would  hang  its 
beer  signs  on  the  abandoned  altars.  It  would  close  every 
public  school.  It  respects  the  thief  and  it  esteems  the 
blasphemer;  it  fills  the  prisons  and  the  penitentiaries.  It 
despises  heaven,  hates  love,  scorns  virtue.  It  tempts  the 
passions.  Its  music  is  the  song  of  a  siren.  Its  sermons 
are  a  collection  of  lewd,  vile  stories.     It  wraps  a  mantle 


102  BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE" 

about  the  hope  of  this  world  and  that  to  come.  Its  tables 
are  full  of  the  vilest  literature.  It  is  the  moral  clearing  house 
for  rot,  and  damnation,  and  poverty,  and  insanity,  and  it 
wrecks  homes  and  bHghts  hves  today. 

God's  Worst  Enemy 

The  saloon  is  a  har.  It  promises  good  cheer  and 
sends  sorrow.  It  promises  health  and  causes  disease.  It 
promises  prosperity  and  sends  adversity.  It  promises  hap- 
piness and  sends  misery.  Yes,  it  sends  the  husband  home 
with  a  he  on  his  lips  to  his  wife;  and  the  boy  home  with 
a  lie  on  his  lips  to  his  mother;  and  it  causes  the  employee 
to  lie  to  his  employer.  It  degrades.  It  is  God's  worst 
enemy  and  the  devil's  best  friend.  It  spares  neither  youth 
nor  old  age.  It  is  waiting  with  a  dirty  blanket  for  the 
baby  to  crawl  into  the  world.    It  Hes  in  wait  for  the  unborn. 

It  cocks  the  highwayman's  pistol.  It  puts  the  rope 
in  the  hands  of  the  mob.  It  is  the  anarchist  of  the  world 
and  its  dirty  red  flag  is  dyed  with  the  blood  of  women  and 
children.  It  sent  the  bullet  through  the  body  of  Lincoln; 
it  nerved  the  arm  that  sent  the  bullets  through  Garfield  and 
William  McKinley.  Yes,  it  is  a  murderer.  Every  plot 
that  was  ever  hatched  against  the  government  and  law,  was 
born  and  bred,  and  crawled  out  of  the  grog-shop  to  damn 
this  country. 

I  tell  you  that  the  curse  of  God  Almighty  is  on  the 
saloon.  Legislatures  are  legislating  against  it.  Decent 
society  is  barring  it  out.  The  fraternal  brotherhoods  are 
knocking  it  out.  The  Masons  and  Odd  Fellows,  and  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  A.  0.  U.  W.  are  closing  their 
doors  to  the  whisky  sellers.  They  don't  want  you  wriggling 
your  carcass  in  their  lodges.  Yes,  sir,  I  tell  you,  the  ctu-se 
of  God  is  on  it.  It  is  on  the  down  grade.  It  is  headed  for 
hell,  and,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  am  going  to  give  it  a  push, 
with  a  whoop,  for  all  I  know  how.  Listen  to  me !  I  am  going 
to  show  you  how  we  burn  up  our  money.  It  costs  twenty 
cents  to  make  a  gallon  of  whisky;  sold  over  the  counter  at 
ten  cents  a  glass,  it  will  bring  four  dollars. 


BArriilNG  WITH  "BOOZE'*  10@ 

*'But,"  said  the  saloon-keeper,  "Bill,  you  must  figure 
on  the  strychnine  and  the  cochineal,  and  other  stuff  they 
put  in  it,  and  it  will  bring  nearer  eight  dollars." 

Yes;  it  increases  the  heart  beat  thirty  times  more  in  a 
minute,  when  you  consider  the  licorice  and  potash  and  log- 
wood and  other  poisons  that  are  put  in.  I  believe  one  cause 
for  the  unprecedented  increase  of  crime  is  due  to  the  poisou 
put  in  the  stuff  nowadays  to  make  it  go  as  far  as  they  can. 

I  am  indebted  to  my  friend,  George  B.  Stuart,  for  some 
of  the  following  points : 

I  will  show  you  how  your  money  is  burned  up.  It. 
costs  twenty  cents  to  make  a  gallon  of  whisky,  sold  over 
the  counter  at  ten  cents  a  glass,  which  brings  four  dollars , 
Listen,  where  does  it  go?  Who  gets  the  twenty  cents?  Th(} 
farmer  for  his  com  or  rye.  Who  gets  the  rest?  The  United 
States  government  for  collecting  revenue,  and  the  big  corpo- 
rations, and  part  is  used  to  pave  our  streets  and  pay  our 
police.  I'll  show  you.  I'm  going  to  show  you  how  it  is 
burned  up,  and  you  don't  need  half  sense  to  catch  on,  and 
if  you  don't  imderstand  just  keep  still  and  nobody  will 
know  the  difference. 

I  say,  "Hey,  Colonel  PoUtics,  what  is  the  matter  witL 
the  coimtry?" 

He  swells  up  like  a  poisoned  pup  and  says  to  me,  "Bill, 
why  the  silver  bugbear.  That's  what  is  the  matter  with 
the  country." 

The  total  value  of  the  silver  produced  in  this  country 
in  1912  was  $39,000,000.  Hear  me!  In  1912  the  total 
value  of  the  gold  produced  in  this  country  was  $93,000,000, 
and  we  dumped  thirty-six  times  that  much  in  the  whisky 
hole  and  didn't  fill  it.  What  is  the  matter?  The  total 
value  of  all  the  gold  and  silver  produced  in  1912  was 
$132,000,000,  and  we  dumped  twenty-five  times  that 
amount  in  the  whisky  hole  and  didn't  fill  it. 

What  is  the  matter  with  the  comitry,  Colonel  Politics? 
He  swells  up  and  says,  "Mr.  Sunday,  Standpatism,  sir," 

I  say,  "You  are  an  old  windbag." 


104  BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE" 

"Oh,"  says  another,  "revision  of  the  tariff."  Another 
man  says,  "Free  trade;  open  the  doors  at  the  ports  and  let 
them  pour  the  products  in  and  we  will  put  the  trusts  on  the 
side-track." 

Say,  you  come  with  me  to  every  port  of  entry.  Listen ! 
In  1912  the  total  value  of  all  the  imports  was  $1,812,000,000, 
and  we  dumped  that  much  in  the  whisky  hole  in  twelve 
months  and  did  not  fill  it. 

"Oh,"  says  a  man,  "let  us  court  South  America  and 
Europe  to  sell  our  products.  That's  what  is  the  matter; 
we  are  not  exporting  enough." 

Last  year  the  total  value  of  all  the  exports  was  $2,362,- 
000,000,  and  we  dumped  that  amount  in  the  whisky  hole  in 
one  year  and  didn't  fill  it. 

One  time  I  was  down  in  Washington  and  went  to  the 
United  States  treasmy  and  said:  "I  wish  you  would  let 
me  go  where  you  don't  let  the  general  public."  And  they 
took  us  aroimd  on  the  inside  and  we  walked  into  a  room  about 
twenty  feet  long  and  fifteen  feet  wide  and  as  many  feet  high, 
and  I  said,  "What  is  this?" 

"This  is  the  vault  that  contains  all  of  the  national  bank 
stock  in  the  United  States." 

I  said,  "How  much  is  here?" 

They  said,  "$578,000,000." 

And  we  dumped  nearly  four  times  the  value  of  the 
national  bank  stock  in  the  United  States  into  the  whisky 
hole  last  year,  and  we  didn't  fill  the  hole  up  at  that.  What 
is  the  matter?  Say,  whenever  the  day  comes  that  all  the 
Catholic  and  Protestant  churches — ^just  when  the  day  comes 
when  you  will  say  to  the  whisky  business:  "You  go  to  hell," 
that  day  the  whisky  business  will  go  to  hell.  But  you  sit 
there,  you  old  whisky-voting  elder  and  deacon  and  vestry- 
man, and  you  wouldn't  strike  your  hands  together  on  the 
proposition.  It  would  stamp  you  an  old  hj^ocrite  and  you 
know  it. 

Say,  hold  on  a  bit.  Have  you  got  a  silver  dollar? 
I  am  going  to  show  you  how  it  is  burned  up.     We  have  in 


BATTLESG  WITH  ''BOOZE"  105 

this  country  250,000  saloons,  and  allowing  fifty  feet  frontage 
for  each  saloon  it  makes  a  street  from  New  York  to  Chicago, 
and  5,000,000  men,  women  and  children  go  daily  into  the 
saloon  for  drink.  And  marching  twenty  miles  a  day  it 
would  take  thirty  days  to  pass  this  building,  and  marching 
five  abreast  they  would  reach  590  miles.  There  they  go; 
look  at  them! 

On  the  first  day  of  January,  500,000  of  the  young  men 
of  our  nation  entered  the  grog-shop  and  began  a  pubhc 
career  hell  ward,  and  on  the  31st  of  December  I  will  come 
back  here  and  summon  you  people,  and  ring  the  bell  and 
raise  the  curtain  and  say  to  the  saloon  and  breweries:  "On 
the  first  day  of  January,  I  gave  you  500,000  of  the  brain  and 
muscle  of  our  land,  and  I  want  them  back  and  have  come  in 
the  name  of  the  home  and  church  and  school;  father 
mother,  sister,  sweetheart;  give  me  back  what  I  gave  you. 
March  out." 

I  count,  and  165,000  have  lost  their  appetites  and  have 
become  muttering,  bleary-eyed  drunkards,  wallowing  in 
their  own  excrement,  and  I  say,  "What  is  it  I  hear,  a  funeral 
dirge?"  What  is  that  procession?  A  fimeral  procession 
3,000  miles  long  and  110,000  hearses  in  the  procession.  One 
hundred  and  ten  thousand  men  die  drunkards  in  the  land  of 
the  free  and  home  of  the  brave.  Listen !  In  an  hour  twelve 
men  die  drunkards,  300  a  day  and  110,000  a  year.  One 
man  will  leap  in  front  of  a  train,  another  will  plunge  from 
the  dock  into  a  lake,  another  will  throw  his  hands  to  his 
head  and  life  will  end.  Another  will  cry,  "Mother,"  and 
his  life  will  go  out  like  a  burnt  match. 

I  stand  in  front  of  the  jails  and  count  the  whisky 
criminals.  They  say,  "Yes,  Bill,  I  fired  the  bullet." 
"Yes,  I  backed  my  wife  into  the  comer  and  beat  her  life 
out.  I  am  waiting  for  the  scaffold;  I  am  waiting."  "I 
am  waiting,"  says  another,  "to  sHp  into  hell."  On,  on,  it 
goes.  Say,  let  me  summon  the  wifehood,  and  the  mother- 
hood, and  the  childhood  and  see  the  tears  rain  down  the 
upturned  faces.    People,  tears  are  too  weak  for  that  hellish 


106  BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE" 

business.  Tears  are  only  salty  backwater  that  well  up  at 
the  bidding  of  an  occult  power,  and  I  will  tell  you  there 
are  865,000  whisky  orphan  children  in  the  United  States, 
enough  in  the  world  to  belt  the  globe  three  times  around, 
punctured  at  every  fifth  point  by  a  drunkard's  widow. 

Like  Hamilcar  of  old,  who  swore  young  Hannibal  to 
eternal  enmity  against  Rome,  so  I  propose  to  perpetuate 
this  feud  against  the  liquor  traffic  until  the  white-winged 
dove  of  temperance  builds  her  nest  on  the  dome  of  the  capitol 
of  Washington  and  spreads  her  wings  of  peace,  sobriety  and 
joy  over  our  land  which  I  love  with  all  my  heart. 

What  Will  a  Dollar  Buy? 

I  hold  a  silver  dollar  in  my  hand.  Come  on,  we  are 
going  to  a  saloon.  We  will  go  into  a  saloon  and  spend 
that  dollar  for  a  quart.  It  takes  twenty  cents  to  make  a 
gallon  of  whisky  and  a  dollar  will  buy  a  quart.  You  say  to 
the  saloon-keeper,  "Give  me  a  quart."  I  will  show  you,  if 
you  wait  a  minute,  how  she  is  burned  up.  Here  I  am  John, 
an  old  drunken  bum,  with  a  wife  and  six  kids.  (Thank 
God,  it's  all  a  He.)  Come  on,  I  will  go  down  to  a  saloon 
and  throw  down  my  dollar.  It  costs  twenty  cents  to  make 
a  gallon  of  whisky.  A  nickel  will  make  a  quart.  My 
dollar  will  buy  a  quart  of  booze.  Who  gets  the  nickel? 
The  farmer,  for  com  and  apples.  Who  gets  the  ninety-five 
cents?  The  United  States  government,  the  big  distillers, 
the  big  corporations.  I  am  John,  a  drunken  bum,  and  I 
will  spend  my  dollar.  I  have  worked  a  week  and  got  my 
pay.  I  go  into  a  grog-shop  and  throw  down  my  dollar. 
The  saloon-keeper  gets  my  dollar  and  I  get  a  quart  of  booze. 
Come  home  with  me.  I  stagger,  and  reel,  and  spew  in  my 
wife's  presence,  and  she  says: 

"Hello,  John,  what  did  you  bring  home?" 

"A  quart." 

What  will  a  quart  do?  It  will  bum  up  my  happiness 
and  my  home  and  fill  my  home  with  squalor  and  want. 
So  there  is  the  dollar.     The  saloon-keeper  has  it.     Here  is 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  107 

my  quart.  There  you  get  the  whisky  end  of  it.  Here  you 
get  the  workingman's  end  of  the  saloon. 

But  come  on;  I  will  go  to  a  store  and  spend  the  dollar 
for  a  pair  of  shoes.  I  want  them  for  my  son,  and  he  puts 
them  on  his  feet,  and  with  the  shoes  to  protect  his  feet  he 
goes  out  and  earns  another  dollar,  and  my  dollar  becomes  a 
silver  thread  in  the  woof  and  warp  of  happiness  and  joy, 
and  the  man  that  owns  the  building  gets  some,  and  the  clerk 
that  sold  the  shoes  gets  some,  and  the  merchant,  and  the 
traveling  man,  and  the  wholesale  house  gets  some,  and  the 
factory,  and  the  man  that  made  the  shoes,  and  the  man  that 
tanned  the  hide,  and  the  butcher  that  bought  the  calf,  and 
the  little  colored  fellow  that  shined  the  shoes,  and  my  dollar 
spread  itself  and  nobody  is  made  worse  for  spending  the 
money. 

I  join  the  Booster  Club  for  business  and  prosperity. 
A  man  said,  "I  will  tell  you  what  is  the  matter  with  the 
country:  it's  over-production."  You  he,  it  is  undercon- 
sumption. 

Say,  wife,  the  bread  that  ought  to  be  in  your  stomach 
to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  hunger  is  down  yonder  in  the 
grocery  store,  and  your  husband  hasn't  money  enough  to 
carry  it  home.  The  meat  that  ought  to  satisfy  your  hunger 
hangs  in  the  butcher  shop.  Your  husband  hasn't  any  money 
to  buy  it.  The  cloth  for  a  dress  is  lying  on  the  shelf  in  the 
store,  but  your  husband  hasn't  the  money  to  buy  it.  The 
whisky  gang  has  his  money. 

What  is  the  matter  with  our  country?  I  would  like 
to  do  this.  I  would  like  to  see  every  booze-fighter  get  on 
the  water  wagon.  I  would  like  to  summon  all  the  drunkards 
in  America  and  say:  "Boys,  let's  cut  her  out  and  spend  the 
money  for  flour,  meat  and  caHco;  what  do  you  say?" 
Say!  $500,000,000  will  buy  all  the  flour  in  the  United 
States;  $500,000,000  will  buy  all  the  beef  cattle,  and 
$500,000,000  will  buy  all  the  cotton  at  $50  a  bale.  But  we 
dumped  more  money  than  that  in  the  whisky  hole  last  year, 
and  we  didn't  fill  it.     Come  on;  I'm  going  to  line  up  the 


108  BATTLING   WITH  "BOOZE" 

drunkards.  Everybody  fall  in.  Come  on,  ready,  forward, 
march.  Right,  left,  here  I  come  with  all  the  drunkards. 
We  will  line  up  in  front  of  a  butcher  shop.  The  butcher 
says,  "What  do  you  want,  a  piece  of  neck?" 

"No;  how  much  do  I  owe  you?"  "Three  dollars." 
"Here's  your  dough.  Now  give  me  a  porterhouse  steak 
and  a  sirloin  roast." 

"Where  did  you  get  all  that  money?" 

"Went  to  hear  Bill  and  climbed  on  the  water  wagon." 

"  Hello !    What  do  you  want?" 

"Beefsteak." 

"What  do  you  want?" 

"Beefsteak." 

We  empty  the  shop  and  the  butcher  runs  to  the  tele- 
phone. "Hey,  Central,  give  me  the  slaughter  house. 
Have  you  got  any  beef,  any  pork,  any  mutton?" 

They  strip  the  slaughter  house,  and  then  telephone  to 
Swift,  and  Armour,  and  Nelson  Morris,  and  Cudahy,  to 
send  down  trainloads  of  beefsteaks. 

"The  whole  bunch  has  got  on  the  water  wagon." 

And  Swift  and  the  other  big  packers  in  Chicago  say 
to  their  salesmen:  "Buy  beef,  pork  and  mutton." 

The  farmer  sees  the  price  of  cattle  and  sheep  jump  up 
to  three  times  their  value.  Let  me  take  the  money  you 
dump  into  the  whisky  hole  and  buy  beefsteaks  with  it.  I 
will  show  what  is  the  matter  with  America.  I  think  the 
liquor  business  is  the  dirtiest,  rottenest  business  this  side 
of  hell. 

Come  on,  are  you  ready?  Fall  in  I  We  line  up  in  front 
of  a  grocery  store. 

"What  do  you  want?" 

"Why,  I  want  flour." 

"What  do  you  want?" 

"Flour." 

"What  do  you  want?" 

"Flour." 

"Pillsbury,  Minneapolis,  'Sleepy  Eye'?" 


"Biloot"  and  "Ma"  Sunday. 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  106 

"Yes,  ship  in  trainloads  of  flour;  send  on  fast  mail 
schedule,  with  an  engine  in  front,  one  behind  and  a  Mogul 
in  the  middle." 

"What's  the  matter?" 

"Why,  the  workingmen  have  stopped  spending  their 
money  for  booze  and  have  begun  to  buy  flour." 

The  big  mills  tell  their  men  to  buy  wheat  and  the 
farmers  see  the  price  jump  to  over  $2  per  bushel.  What's 
the  matter  with  the  country?  Why,  the  whisky  gang  has 
your  money  and  you  have  an  empty  stomach,  and  yet  you 
will  walk  up  and  vote  for  the  dirty  booze. 

Come  on,  cut  out  the  booze,  boys.  Get  on  the  water 
wagon;  get  on  for  the  sake  of  your  wife  and  babies,  and 
hit  the  booze  a  blow. 

Come  on,  ready,  forward,  march!  Right,  left,  halt! 
We  are  in  front  of  a  dry  goods  store. 

"What  do  you  want?" 

"CaUco." 

"What  do  you  want?" 

"Cahco." 

"What  do  you  want?" 

"Cahco." 

"Cahco;  all  right,  come  on."    The  stores  are  stripped. 

Marshall  Field,  Carson,  Pirie,  Scott  &  Co.,  J.  V.  Farrell, 
send  down  cahco.  The  whole  bunch  has  voted  out  the 
saloons  and  we  have  such  a  demand  for  cahco  we  don't 
know  what  to  do.  And  the  big  stores  telegraph  to  Fall 
River  to  ship  cahco,  and  the  factories  telegraph  to  buy 
cotton,  and  they  tell  their  salesmen  to  buy  cotton,  and  the 
cotton  plantation  man  sees  cotton  jump  up  to  $150  a  bale. 

What  is  the  matter?  Your  children  are  going  naked  and 
the  whisky  gang  has  got  your  money.  That's  what's  the 
matter  with  you.  Don't  listen  to  those  old  whisky-soaked 
politicians  who  say  "stand  pat  on  the  saloon." 

Come  with  me.  Now,  remember,  we  have  the  whole 
bunch  of  booze  fighters  on  the  water  wagon,  and  I'm  going 
home  now.     Over  there  I  was  John,  the  drunken  bum. 


110  BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE" 

The  whisky  gang  got  my  dollar  and  I  got  the  quart.  Over 
here  I  am  John  on  the  water  wagon.  The  merchant  got  my 
dollar  and  I  have  his  meat,  flour  and  caUco,  and  I'm  going 
home  now.  "Be  it  ever  so  humble,  there's  no  place  like 
home  without  booze." 

Wife  comes  out  and  says,  "Hello,  John,  what  have  you 
got?" 

"Two  porterhouse  steaks,  Sally." 

"What's  that  bundle.  Pa?" 

"Clothes  to  make  you  a  new  dress.  Sis.  Your  mother 
has  fixed  your  old  one  so  often,  it  looks  like  a  crazy  quilt." 

"And  what  have  you  there?" 

"That's  a  pair  of  shoes  for  you,  Tom;  and  here  is  some 
cloth  to  make  you  a  pair  of  pants.  Your  mother  has 
patched  the  old  ones  so  often,  they  look  like  the  map  of 
United  States." 

What's  the  matter  with  the  country?  We  have  been 
dumping  into  the  whisky  hole  the  money  that  ought  to  have 
been  spent  for  flour,  beef  and  caUco,  and  we  haven't  the 
hole  filled  up  yet. 

A  man  comes  along  and  says:  "Are  you  a  drunkard?" 

"Yes,  I'm  a  drunkard." 

"Where  are  you  going?" 

"I  am  going  to  hell." 

"Why?' 

"Because  the  Good  Book  says:  'No  drunkard  shall 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  God,'  so  I  am  going  to  hell." 

Another  man  comes  along  and  I  say:  "Are  you  a 
church  member?" 

"Yes,  I  am  a  church  member." 

"Where  are  you  going?" 

"I  am  going  to  heaven." 

"Did  you  vote  for  the  saloon?" 

"Yes." 

"Then  you  shall  go  to  hell." 

Say,  if  the  man  that  drinks  the  whisky  goes  to  heU, 
the  man  that  votes  for  the  saloon  that  sold  the  whisky  to 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  111 

him  will  go  to  hell.  If  the  man  that  drmks  the  whisky  goes 
to  hell,  and  the  man  that  sold  the  whisky  to  the  men  that 
drank  it,  goes  to  heaven,  then  the  poor  dnmkard  will  have 
the  right  to  stand  on  the  brink  of  eternal  danmation  and  put 
his  arms  around  the  pillar  of  justice,  shake  his  fist  in  the 
face  of  the  Almighty  and  say,  ''Unjust!  Unjust!"  If  you 
vote  for  the  dirty  business  you  ought  to  go  to  hell  as  sure  as 
you  live,  and  I  would  like  to  fire  the  furnace  while  you  are 
there. 

Some  fellow  says,  "Drive  the  saloon  out  and  the  build- 
ings will  be  empty."  Which  would  you  rather  have,  empty 
buildings  or  empty  jails,  penitentiaries  and  insane  asylums? 
You  drink  the  stuff  and  what  have  you  to  say?  You  that 
vote  for  it,  and  you  that  sell  it?  Look  at  them  painted  on 
the  canvas  of  yoiu*  recoUectioUo 

The  Gin  Mill 

What  is  the  matter  with  this  grand  old  country?  I 
heard  my  friend,  George  Stuart,  tell  how  he  imagined  that 
he  walked  up  to  a  mill  and  said : 

"Hello,  there,  what  kind  of  a  mill  are  you?" 

"A  sawmiU." 

"And  what  do  you  make?" 

"We  make  boards  out  of  logs." 

"Is  the  finished  product  worth  more  than  the  raw 
material?" 

"Yes." 

"We  will  make  laws  for  you.  We  must  have  lumber  for 
houses." 

He  goes  up  to  another  mill  and  says: 

"Hey,  what  kind  of  a  mill  are  you?" 

"A  grist  mill." 

"What  do  you  make?" 

"Flour  and  meal  out  of  wheat  and  com." 

"Is  the  finished  product  worth  more  than  the  raw 
material?" 

"Yeso" 


112  BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE" 

"Then  come  on.  We  will  make  laws  for  you.  We  will 
protect  you." 

He  goes  up  to  another  mill  and  says: 

"What  kind  of  a  mill  are  you?" 

"A  paper  mill." 

"What  do  you  make  paper  out  of?" 

"Straw  and  rags." 

"Well,  we  will  make  laws  for  you.  We  must  have 
paper  on  w^hich  to  write  notes  and  mortgages." 

He  goes  up  to  another  mill  and  says: 

"Hey,  what  kind  of  a  mill  are  you?" 

"A  gin  miU." 

"I  don't  like  the  looks  nor  the  smell  of  you.  A  gin 
mill;  what  do  you  make?    What  kind  of  a  mill  are  you?" 

"A  gin  miU." 

"What  is  your  raw  material?" 

"The  boys  of  America." 

The  gin  mills  of  this  country  must  have  2,000,000  boys 
or  shut  up  shop.  Say,  walk  down  your  streets,  count  the 
homes  and  every  fifth  home  has  to  furnish  a  boy  for  a 
drunkard.  Have  you  furnished  yours?  Noo  Then  I 
have  to  furnish  two  to  make  up. 

"What  is  your  raw  material?" 

"American  boys." 

"Then  I  will  pick  up  the  boys  and  give  them  to  you." 

A  man  says,  "Hold  on,  not  that  boy,  he  is  mine." 

Then  I  will  say  to  you  what  a  saloon-keeper  said  to  me 
when  I  protested,  "I  am  not  interested  in  boys;  to  hell 
with  your  boys." 

"Say,  saloon  gin  mill,  what  is  your  finished  product?" 

"Bleary-eyed,  low-down,  staggering  men  and  the 
scum  of  God's  dirt." 

Go  to  the  jails,  go  to  the  insane  asylums  and  the  pem- 
tentiaries,  and  the  homes  for  feeble-minded.  There  you 
will  find  the  finished  product  for  their  dirty  business.  I 
tell  you  it  is  the  worst  business  this  side  of  hell,  and  you 
know  ito 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  113 

Listen !  Here  is  an  extract  from  the  Saturday  Evening 
Post  of  November  9,  1907,  taken  from  a  paper  read  by  a 
brewer.  You  will  sa}^  that  a  man  didn't  say  it:  "It  appears 
rrom  these  facts  that  the  success  of  our  business  Ues  in  the 
creation  of  appetite  among  the  boys.  Men  who  have  formed 
the  habit  scarcely  ever  reform,  but  they,  like  others,  will  die, 
and  unless  there  are  recruits  made  to  take  their  places,  our 
coffers  will  be  empty,  and  I  recommend  to  you  that  money 
spent  in  the  creation  of  appetite  will  return  in  dollars  to 
your  tills  after  the  habit  is  formed." 

What  is  your  raw  material,  saloons?  American  boys. 
Say,  I  would  not  give  one  boy  for  all  the  distilleries  and 
saloons  this  side  of  hell.  And  they  have  to  have  2,000,000 
boys  every  generation.  And  then  you  tell  me  you  are  a 
man  when  you  will  vote  for  an  institution  Uke  that.  What 
do  you  want  to  do,  pay  taxes  in  money  or  in  boys? 

I  feel  like  an  old  fellow  in  Tennessee  who  made  his 
living  by  catching  rattlesnakes.  He  caught  one  with 
fourteen  rattles  and  put  it  in  a  box  with  a  glass  top.  One 
day  when  he  was  sawing  wood  his  little  five-year  old  boy, 
Jim,  took  the  Ud  off  and  the  rattler  wriggled  out  and  struck 
him  in  the  cheek.  He  ran  to  his  father  and  said,  "The 
rattler  has  bit  me."  The  father  ran  and  chopped  the  rattler 
to  pieces,  and  with  his  jack-knife  he  cut  a  chunk  from  the 
boy's  cheek  and  then  sucked  and  sucked  at  the  wound  to 
draw  out  the  poison.  He  looked  at  little  Jim,  watched  the 
pupils  of  his  eyes  dilate  and  watched  him  swell  to  three  times 
his  normal  size,  watched  his  Ups  become  parched  and 
cracked,  and  eyes  roll,  and  little  Jim  gasped  and  died. 

The  father  took  him  in  his  arms,  carried  him  over  by 
the  side  of  the  rattler,  got  on  his  knees  and  said,  "0  God, 
I  would  not  give  little  Jim  for  all  the  rattlers  that  ever 
crawled  over  the  Blue  Ridge  mountains." 

And  I  would  not  give  one  boy  for  every  dirty  dollar 
you  get  from  the  hell-soaked  liquor  business  or  from  every 
brewery  and  distillery  this  side  of  hell. 

In  a  Northwest  city  a  preacher  sat  at  his  breakfast 


114  BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE" 

table  one  Sunday  morning.  The  door-bell  rang;  he  answered 
it;  and  there  stood  a  Uttle  boy,  twelve  years  of  age.  He  was 
on  crutches,  right  leg  off  at  the  knee,  shivering,  and  he  said, 
''Please,  sir,  will  you  come  up  to  the  jail  and  talk  and  pray 
with  papa?  He  murdered  mamma.  Papa  was  good  and 
kind,  but  whisky  did  it,  and  I  have  to  support  my  three  little 
sisters.  I  sell  newspapers  and  black  boots.  Will  you  go  up 
and  talk  and  pray  with  papa?  And  will  you  come  home  and 
be  with  us  when  they  bring  him  back?  The  governor  says 
we  can  have  his  body  after  they  hang  him." 

The  preacher  hurried  to  the  jail  and  talked  and  prayed 
with  the  man.  He  had  no  knowledge  of  what  he  had  done. 
He  said,  "I  don't  blame  the  law,  but  it  breaks  my  heart  to 
think  that  my  children  must  be  left  in  a  cold  and  heartless 
world.     Oh,  sir,  whisky  did  it." 

The  preacher  was  at  the  little  hut  when  up  drove  the 
undertaker's  wagon  and  they  carried  out  the  pine  coflin. 
They  led  the  little  boy  up  to  the  cofiin,  he  leaned  over  and 
kissed  his  father  and  sobbed,  and  said  to  his  sister,  "Come 
on,  sister,  kiss  papa's  cheeks  before  they  grow  cold."  And 
the  little  hungry,  ragged,  whisky  orphans  hurried  to  the 
cofl&n,  shrieking  in  agony.  Pohce,  whose  hearts  were 
adamant,  buried  their  faces  in  their  hands  and  rushed  from 
the  house,  and  the  preacher  fell  on  his  knees  and  hfted  his 
clenched  fist  and  tear-stained  face  and  took  an  oath  before 
God,  and  before  the  whisky  orphans,  that  he  would  fight 
the  cursed  business  until  the  undertaker  carried  him  out  in 
a  coffin. 

A  Chance  for  Manhood 

You  men  have  a  chance  to  show  your  manhood.  Then 
in  the  name  of  your  pure  mother,  in  the  name  of  your  man- 
hood, in  the  name  of  your  wife  and  the  poor  innocent 
children  that  climb  up  on  your  lap  and  put  their  arms  around 
your  neck,  in  the  name  of  all  that  is  good  and  noble,  fight 
the  curse.  Shall  you  men,  who  hold  in  your  hands  the  ballot, 
and  in  that  ballot  hold  the  destiny  of  womanhood  and  child- 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  116 

hood  and  manhood,  shall  you,  the  sovereign  power,  refuse 
to  rally  in  the  name  of  the  defenseless  men  and  women  and 
native  land?    No. 

I  want  every  man  to  say,  "God,  you  can  count  on  me 
to  protect  my  wife,  my  home,  my  mother  and  my  children 
and  the  manhood  of  America." 

By  the  mercy  of  God,  which  has  given  to  you  the  un- 
shaken and  unshakable  confidence  of  her  you  love,  I  beseech 
you,  make  a  fight  for  the  women  who  wait  until  the  saloons 
spew  out  their  husbands  and  their  sons,  and  send  them  home 
maudlin,  brutish,  devihsh,  stinking,  blear-eyed,  bloated- 
faced  drunkards. 

You  say  you  can't  prohibit  men  from  drinking.  Why, 
if  Jesus  Christ  were  here  today  some  of  you  would  keep  on 
in  sin  just  the  same.  But  the  law  can  be  enforced  against 
whisky  just  the  same  as  it  can  be  enforced  against  anything 
else,  if  you  have  honest  officials  to  enforce  it.  Of  course 
it  doesn't  prohibit.  There  isn't  a  law  on  the  books  of  the 
state  that  prohibits.  We  have  laws  against  murder.  Do 
they  prohibit?  We  have  laws  against  burglary.  Do  they 
prohibit?  We  have  laws  against  arson,  rape,  but  they  ^o 
not  prohibit.  Would  you  introduce  a  bill  to  repeal  all  the 
laws  that  do  not  prohibit?  Any  law  will  prohibit  to  a  certain 
extent  if  honest  officials  enforce  it.  But  no  law  will  abso- 
lutely prohibit.  We  can  make  a  law  against  liquor  prohibit 
as  much  as  any  law  prohibits. 

Or  would  you  introduce  a  bill  saying,  if  you  pay  $1,000 
a  year  you  can  kill  any  one  you  don't  like;  or  by  paying 
$500  a  year  you  can  attack  any  girl  you  want  to;  or  by 
pajing  $100  a  year  you  can  steal  anything  that  suits  you? 
That's  what  you  do  with  the  dirtiest,  rottenest  gang  this 
side  of  hell.  You  say  for  so  much  a  year  you  can  have  a 
license  to  make  staggering,  reeling,  drunken  sots,  murderers 
and  thieves  and  vagabonds.  You  say,  "Bill,  you're  too 
hard  on  the  whisky."  I  don't  agree.  Not  on  your  life. 
There  was  a  fellow  going  along  the  pike  and  a  farmer's 
dog  ran  snapping  at  him.    He  tried  to  drive  it  back  with  a 


116  BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE" 

pitchfork  he  carried,  and  failing  to  do  so  he  pinned  it  to  the 
ground  with  the  prongs.  Out  came  the  farmer:  "Hey, 
why  don't  you  use  the  other  end  of  that  fork?"  He  answered 
"Why  didn't  the  dog  come  at  me  with  the  other  end?" 

Personal  Liberty 

Personal  Uberty  is  not  personal  Kcense.  I  dare  not 
exercise  personal  liberty  if  it  infringes  on  the  Uberty  of 
others.  Our  forefathers  did  not  fight  and  die  for  personal 
license  but  for  personal  liberty  bounded  by  laws.  Personal 
liberty  is  the  hberty  of  a  murderer,  a  burglar,  a  seducer, 
or  a  wolf  that  wants  to  remain  in  a  sheep  fold,  or  the  weasel 
in  a  hen  roost.  You  have  no  right  to  vote  for  an  institution 
that  is  going  to  drag  your  sons  and  daughters  to  hell. 

If  you  were  the  only  persons  in  this  city  you  would 
have  a  perfect  right  to  drive  your  horse  down  the  street  at 
breakneck  speed;  you  would  have  a  right  to  make  a  race 
track  out  of  the  streets  for  your  auto;  you  could  build  a 
slaughter  house  in  the  pubUc  square;  you  could  build 
a  glue  factory  in  the  public  square.  But  when  the  popula- 
tion increases  from  one  to  600,000  you  can't  do  it.  You 
say,  "Why  can't  I  run  my  auto?  I  own  it.  Why  can't 
I  run  my  horse?  I  own  it.  Why  can't  I  build  the  slaughter 
house?  I  own  the  lot."  Yes,  but  there  are  600,000  people 
here  now  and  other  people  have  rights. 

So  law  stands  between  you  and  personal  Hberty,  you 
miserable  dog.  You  can't  build  a  slaughter  house  in  your 
front  yard,  because  the  law  says  you  can't.  As  long  as 
I  am  .standing  here  on  this  platform  I  have  personal  liberty. 
I  can  swing  my  arms  at  will.  But  the  minute  any  one  else 
steps  on  the  platform  my  personal  Hberty  ceases.  It  stops 
just  one  inch  from  the  other  fellow's  nose. 

When  you  come  staggering  home,  cussing  right  and  left 
and  spewing  and  spitting,  your  wife  suffers,  your  children 
suffer.  Don't  think  that  you  are  the  only  one  that  suffers. 
A  man  that  goes  to  the  penitentiary  makes  his  wife  and 
children  suffer  just  as  much  as  he  does.     You're  placing 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  117 

a  shame  on  your  wife  and  children.  If  you're  a  dirty,  low- 
down,  filthy,  drunken,  whisky-soaked  bum  you'll  affect  all 
with  whom  you  come  in  contact.  If  you're  a  God-fearing 
man  you  will  influence  all  with  whom  you  come  in  contact. 
You  can't  live  by  yourself. 

I  occasionally  hear  a  man  say,  "It's  nobody's  business 
how  I  live."  Then  I  say  he  is  the  most  dirty,  low-down, 
whisky-soaked,  beer-guzzling,  bull-necked,  foul-mouthed 
hypocrite  that  ever  had  a  brain  rotten  enough  to  conceive 
such  a  statement  and  Hps  vile  enough  to  utter  it.  You  say, 
"If  I  am  satisfied  with  my  life  why  do  you  want  to  interfere 
with  my  business?" 

If  I  heard  a  man  beating  his  wife  and  heard  her  shrieks 
and  the  children's  cries  and  my  wife  would  tell  me  to  go  and 
see  what  was  the  matter,  and  I  went  in  and  foimd  a  great, 
big,  broad-shouldered,  whisky-soaked,  hog-jowled,  weasel- 
eyed  brute  dragging  a  Uttle  woman  around  by  the  hair, 
and  two  children  in  the  corner  unconscious  from  his  kicks 
and  the  others  yelling  in  abject  terror,  and  he  said,  "What 
are  you  coming  in  to  interfere  with  my  personal  Uberty  for? 
Isn't  this  my  wife,  didn't  I  pay  for  the  hcense  to  wed  her?" 
You  ought,  or  you're  a  bigamist.  "Aren't  these  my  chil- 
dren; didn't  I  pay  the  doctor  to  bring  them  into  the  world?" 
You  ought  to,  or  you're  a  thief.  "If  I  want  to  beat  them, 
what  is  that  your  business,  aren't  they  mine?"  Would  I 
apologize?  Never!  I'd  knock  seven  kinds  of  pork  out  of 
that  old  hog. 

The  Moderate  Drinker 

I  remember  when  I  was  secretary  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
in  Chicago,  I  had  the  saloon  route.  I  had  to  go  around  and 
give  tickets  inviting  men  to  come  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  services. 
And  one  day  I  was  told  to  count  the  men  going  into  a  certain 
saloon.  Not  the  ones  already  in,  but  just  those  going  in. 
In  sixty-two  minutes  I  could  count  just  1,004  men  going  in 
there.  I  went  in  then  and  met  a  fellow  who  used  to  be  my 
side-kicker  out  in  Iowa,  and  he  threw  down  a  mint  julep 
while  I  stood  there,  and  I  asked  him  what  he  was  doing. 


118  BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE" 

"Oh,  just  come  down  to  the  theater,"  he  said,  "and  came 
over  for  a  drink  between  acts." 

"Why,  you  are  three  sheets  in  the  wind  now,"  I  said, 
and  then  an  old  drunken  bum,  with  a  little  threadbare 
coat,  a  straw  hat,  no  vest,  pants  torn,  toes  sticking  out 
through  his  torn  shoes,"and  several  weeks'  growth  of  beard 
on  his  face,  came  in  and  said  to  the  bartender:  "For  God's 
sake,  can't  you  give  an  old  bum  a  drink  of  whisky  to  warm 
up  on?"  and  the  bartender  poured  him  out  a  big  glass  and 
he  gulped  it  down.  He  pulled  his  hat  down  and  slouched 
out. 

I  said  to  my  friend, "George,  do  you  see  that  old  drunken 
bum,  down  and  out?  There  was  a  time  when  he  was  just 
like  you.  No  drunkard  ever  intended  to  be  a  drunkard. 
Every  drunkard  intended  to  be  a  moderate  drinker." 

"Oh,  you're  unduly  excited  over  my  welfare,"  he  said. 
"I  never  expect  to  get  that  far." 

"Neither  did  that  bum,"  I  answered.  I  was  standing 
on  another  comer  less  than  eight  months  afterward  and  J 
saw  a  bum  coming  along  with  head  down,  his  eyes  bloodshot, 
his  face  bloated,  and  he  panhandled  me  for  a  flapjack  before 
I  recognized  him.  It  was  George.  He  had  lost  his  job  and 
was  on  the  toboggan  sUde  hitting  it  for  hell.  I  say  if  sin 
weren't  so  deceitful  it  wouldn't  be  so  attractive.  Every 
added  drink  makes  it  harder. 

Some  just  live  for  booze.  Some  say,  "I  need  it.  It 
keeps  me  warm  in  winter."  Another  says,  "It  keeps  me 
cool  in  sunomer."  Well,  if  it  keeps  you  warm  in  winter  and 
cool  in  summer,  why  is  it  that  out  of  those  who  freeze  to 
death  and  are  sim-struck  the  greater  part  of  them  are  booze- 
hoisters?  Every  one  takes  it  for  the  alcohol  there  is  in  it. 
Take  that  out  and  you  would  as  soon  drink  dish  water. 

I  can  buy  a  can  of  good  beef  extract  and  dip  the  point 
of  my  knife  in  the  can  and  get  more  nourishment  on  the 
point  of  that  knife  than  in  800  gallons  of  the  best  beer. 
If  the  brewers  of  this  land  today  were  making  their  beer  in 
Germany,  ninety  per  cent  of  them  would  be  in  jail.     The 


BATTLING  WITH  "BOOZE"  119 

extract  on  the  point  of  the  knife  represents  one  and  three- 
quarter  pounds  of  good  beefsteak.  Just  think,  you  have 
to  make  a  swill  barrel  out  of  your  bellies  and  a  sewer  if  you 
want  to  get  that  much  nourishment  out  of  beer  and  run 
800  gallons  through.  Oh,  go  ahead,  if  you  want  to,  but  I'll 
try  to  help  you  just  the  same. 

Every  man  has  blood  corpuscles  and  their  object  is  to 
take  the  impurities  out  of  your  system.  Perspiration  is 
for  the  same  thing.  Every  time  you  work  or  I  preach  the 
impurities  come  out.  Every  time  you  sweat  there  is  a 
destroying  power  going  on  inside.  The  blood  goes  through 
the  heart  every  seventeen  seconds.  Oh,  we  have  a  marvel- 
ous system.  In  some  spots  there  are  4,000  pores  to  the 
square  inch  and  a  grain  of  sand  will  cover  150  of  them. 
I  can  strip  you  and  cover  you  with  shellac  and  you'll  be 
dead  in  forty-eight  hours.  Oh,  we  are  fearfully  and  wonder- 
fully made. 

What  Booze  Does  to  the  System 

Alcohol  knocks  the  blood  corpuscles  out  of  business 
so  that  it  takes  eight  to  ten  to  do  what  one  ought  to  do. 
There's  a  man  who  drinks.  Here's  a  fellow  who  drives  a 
beer  wagon.  Look  how  pussy  he  is.  He's  full  of  rotten 
tissue.  He  says  he's  healthy.  Smell  his  breath.  You 
punch  your  finger  in  that  healthy  flesh  he  talks  about  and 
the  dent  will  be  there  a  half  an  hour  afterwards.  You  look 
like  you  don't  beheve  it.  Try  it  when  you  go  to  bed  tonight. 
Pneumonia  has  a  first  mortgage  on  a  booze-hoister. 

Take  a  fellow  with  good,  healthy  muscles,  and  you 
punch  them  and  they  bound  out  like  a  rubber  band.  The 
first  thing  about  a  crushed  strawberry  stomach  is  a  crushed 
strawberry  nose.  Nature  lets  the  pubhc  on  the  outside 
know  what  is  going  on  inside.  If  I  could  just  take  the 
stomach  of  a  moderate  drinker  and  turn  it  wrong  side  out 
for  you,  it  would  be  all  the  temperance  lecture  you  would 
need.  You  know  what  alcohol  does  to  the  white  of  an  egg. 
It  will  cook  it  in  a  few  minutes.     Well,  alcohol  does  the 


120  BATTLING   WITH    "BOOZE" 

same  thing  to  the  nerves  as  to  the  white  of  an  egg.  That's 
why  some  men  can't  walk.  They  stagger  because  their 
nerves  are  partly  paralyzed. 

The  liver  is  the  largest  organ  of  the  body.  It  takes 
all  of  the  blood  in  the  body  and  purifies  it  and  takes  out  the 
poisons  and  passes  them  on  to  the  gall  and  from  there  they 
go  to  the  intestines  and  act  as  oil  does  on  machinery.  When 
a  man  drinks  the  liver  becomes  covered  with  hob  nails,  and 
then  refuses  to  do  the  work,  and  the  poisons  stay  in  the 
blood.  Then  the  victim  begins  to  turn  yellow.  He  has  the 
jaundice.  The  kidneys  take  what  is  left  and  purify  that. 
The  booze  that  a  man  drinks  turns  them  hard. 

That's  what  booze  is  doing  for  you.  Isn't  it  time  you 
went  red  hot  after  the  enemy?  I'm  trying  to  help  you. 
I'm  trying  to  put  a  carpet  on  your  floor,  pull  the  pillows  out 
of  the  window,  give  you  and  your  children  and  wife  good 
clothes.  I'm  trying  to  get  you  to  save  your  money  instead 
of  buying  a  machine  for  the  saloon-keeper  while  you  have 
to  foot  it. 

By  the  grace  of  God  I  have  strength  enough  to  pass 
the  open  saloon,  but  some  of  you  can't,  so  I  owe  it  to  you  to 
help  you. 

I've  stood  for  more  sneers  and  scoffs  and  insults  and  had 
my  life  threatened  from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other 
by  this  God-forsaken  gang  of  thugs  and  cutthroats  because 
I  have  come  out  uncompromisingly  against  them.  I've 
taken  more  dirty,  vile  insults  from  this  low-down  bunch 
than  from  any  one  on  earth,  but  there  is  no  one  that  will 
reach  down  lower,  or  reach  higher  up  or  wider,  to  help  you 
out  of  the  pits  of  drunkenness  than  I. 


CHAPTER  X 
"Give  Attendance  to  Reading" 

There  are  some  so-called  Christian  homes  today  with  books  on  the 
shelves  of  the  library  that  have  no  more  business  there  than  a  rattler  crawling 
about  on  the  floor,  or  poison  within  the  child's  reach. — Billt  Sunday. 


I 


^ '  "f  NEVER  heard  Billy  Sunday  use  an  ungrammatical 
sentence,"  remarked  one  observer.  "He  uses  a 
great  deal  of  slang,  and  many  colloquialisms,  but  not 
a  single  error  in  grammar  could  I  detect.  Some  of  his 
passages  are  really  beautiful  English." 

Sunday  has  made  diUgent  effort  to  supplement  his  lack 
of  education.  He  received  the  equivalent  of  a  high-school 
training  in  boyhood,  which  is  far  more  than  Lincoln  ever 
had.  Nevertheless  he  has  not  had  the  training  of  the 
average  educated  man,  much  less  of  a  normal  minister  of 
the  gospel.  He  is  conscious  of  his  limitations:  and  has 
diligently  endeavored  to  make  up  for  them.  When  coach- 
ing the  Northwestern  University  base-ball  team  in  the 
winter  of  '87  and  '88  he  attended  classes  at  the  University. 
He  has  read  a  great  deal  and  to  this  day  continues  his 
studies.  Of  course  his  acquaintance  with  literature  is 
superficial:  but  his  use  of  it  shows  how  earnestly  he  has 
read  up  on  history  and  Uterature  and  the  sciences.  He 
makes  better  use  of  his  knowledge  of  the  physical  sciences, 
and  of  historical  allusions,  than  most  men  drilled  in  them 
for  years.  He  displays  a  proneness  for  what  he  himself 
would  call  "high-brow  stuff,"  and  his  disproportionate  dis- 
play of  his  "book  learning"  reveals  his  conscious  effort  to 
supply  what  does  not  come  to  him  naturally. 

Sunday  has  an  eclectic  mind.  He  knows  a  good 
thing  when  he  sees  it.  He  is  quick  to  incorporate  into 
his  discourses  happenings  or  illustrations  wherever  found. 
Moody  also  was  accustomed  to  do  this:    he  circulated 

(121), 


122      *'GIVE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING" 

among  his  friends  interleaved  Bibles  to  secure  keen  com- 
ments on  Scripture  passages.  All  preachers  draw  on  the 
storehouses  of  the  past:  the  Church  Fathers  speak  every 
Sunday  in  the  pulpits  of  Christendom.  Nobody  originates 
all  that  he  says.     "We  are  the  heirs  of  all  the  ages." 

At  the  opening  of  every  one  of  his  campaigns  Sunday 
repeatedly  announces  that  he  has  drawn  his  sermon  mate- 
rial from  wherever  he  could  find  it,  and  that  he  makes  no 
claim  to  originality.  So  the  qualified  critic  can  detect,  in 
addition  to  some  sermon  outlines  which  were  bequests 
from  Dr.  Chapman,  epigrams  from  Sam  Jones,  flashes 
from  Talmage,  passages  from  George  Stuart,  paragraphs 
from  the  rehgious  press,  apothegms  from  the  great  com- 
mentators. It  is  no  news  to  say  that  Sunday's  material  is 
not  all  original ;  he  avows  this  himself.  In  his  gleanings  he 
has  had  help  from  various  associates.  Elijah  P.  Brown's 
hand  can  be  traced  in  his  sermons:  the  creator  of  the 
"Ram's  Horn"  proverbs  surely  is  responsible  for  Sunday's 
penchant  for  throwing  stones  at  the  devil. 

Sunday  is  not  an  original  thinker.  He  has  founded  no 
school  of  Scriptural  interpretation.  He  has  not  given  any 
new  exposition  of  Bible  passages,  nor  has  he  developed  any 
fresh  lines  of  thought.  Nobody  hears  anything  new  from 
him.  In  every  one  of  his  audience  there  are  probably 
many  persons  who  have  a  more  scholarly  acquaintance 
with  the  Bible  and  with  Christian  literature. 

Temperamentally  a  conservative,  Sunday  has  taken 
the  truth  taught  him  by  his  earUest  teachers  and  has 
adapted  and  paraphrased  and  modernized  it.  In  the 
crucible  of  his  intense  personality  this  truth  has  become 
Sundayized.  His  discourses  may  have  a  variety  of  origin, 
but  they  all  sound  like  Billy  Sunday  when  he  delivers  them. 

A  toilsome,  painstaking  worker,  he  has  made  elaborate 
notes  of  all  his  sermons,  and  these  he  takes  with  him  in 
leather-bound  black  books  to  the  platform  and  follows  more 
or  less  closely  as  he  speaks.  No  other  man  than  himself 
Gould  use  these  rough  notes.     Often  he  interjects  into  one 


"GIVE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING"       123 

sermon  parts  of  another.  He  has  about  a  hundred  dis- 
courses at  his  conunand  at  present,,  and  his  supply  is  con- 
stantly growing. 

The  early  copies  of  Sunday's  sermons  were  taken  down 
more  or  less  correctly  in  shorthand,  and  these  have  been 
reproduced  in  every  city  where  he  has  gone:  consequently 
they  lack  the  tang  and  flavor  of  his  present  deUverances. 

He  is  alert  to  glean  from  all  sources.  In  conversation 
one  morning  in  Scranton  I  told  him  how  on  the  previous  day 
a  lawyer  friend  had  characterized  a  preacher  with  whom 
I  had  been  talking  by  saying,  ''How  much  like  a  preacher  he 
looks,  and  how  little  Uke  a  man."  That  afternoon  Sunday 
used  this  in  his  sermon  and  twiddled  it  under  his  fingers 
for  a  minute  or  two,  paraphrasing  it  in  characteristic  Sunday 
fashion.  Doubtless  it  is  now  part  of  his  permanent  oratori- 
cal stock  in  trade. 

The  absolute  unconventionality  of  the  man  makes  all 
this  possible.  He  is  not  afraid  of  the  most  shocking  presen- 
tation of  truth.  Thus  when  speaking  at  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  he  alluded  to  a  professor  who  had  criticized 
the  doctrine  of  hell,  saying,  "That  man  will  not  be  in  hell 
five  minutes  before  he  knows  better."  Of  course  that 
thrust  caught  the  students.  A  more  discreet  and  diplomatic 
person  than  Sunday  would  not  have  dared  to  say  this. 

The  gospel  preached  by  Simday  is  the  same  that  the 
Church  has  been  teaching  for  hundreds  of  years.  He  knows 
no  modifications.  He  is  fiercely  antagonistic  to  ''modem" 
scholarship.  He  sits  in  God's  judgment  seat  in  almost 
every  sermon  and  frequently  sends  men  to  hell  by  name. 

All  this  may  be  deplorable,  but  it  is  Sunday.  The  Bible 
which  he  uses  is  an  interpreted  and  annotated  edition  by 
one  of  the  most  conservative  of  Bible  teachers:  this  suits 
Sunday,  for  he  is  not  of  the  temperament  to  be  hospitable 
to  new  truths  that  may  break  forth  from  the  living  word. 

This  state  of  mind  leads  him  to  be  extravagant  and 
intolerant  in  his  statements.  His  hearers  are  patient  with 
all  oi  this  because  the  body  of  his  teachings  is  that  held  by 


124      "GIVE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING" 

all  evangelical  Christians.  If  he  were  less  cock-sure  he  would 
not  be  Billy  Sunday;  the  great  mass  of  mankind  want  a 
reUgion  of  authority. 

After  all,  truth  is  intolerant. 

Although  lacking  technical  Uterary  training  Sunday 
is  not  only  a  master  of  Uving  EngUsh  and  of  terse,  strong, 
vivid  and  gripping  phrase,  but  he  is  also  capable  of  extraor- 
dinary flights  of  eloquence,  when  he  uses  the  chastest  and 
most  appropriate  language.  He  has  held  multitudes  spell- 
bound with  such  passages  as  these: 

God's  Token  of  Love 

"Down  in  Jacksonville,  Florida,  a  man,  Judge  Owen, 
quarreled  with  his  betrothed  and  to  try  to  forget,  he  went 
off  and  worked  in  a  yellow-fever  hospital.  Finally  he  caught 
the  disease  and  had  succumbed  to  it.  He  had  passed  the 
critical  stage  of  the  disease,  but  he  was  dying.  One  day 
his  sweetheart  met  the  physician  on  the  street  and  asked 
about  the  judge.     'He's  sick,'  he  told  her. 

"'How  bad?'   she  asked. 

"'Well,  he's  passed  the  critical  stage,  but  he  is  dying,' 
the  doctor  told  her. 

"'But  I  don't  understand,'  she  said,  'if  he's  passed  the 
critical  stage  why  isn't  he  getting  well? ' 

"  'He's  dying,  of  undying  love  for  you,  not  the  fever,'  the 
doctor  told  her.  She  asked  him  to  come  with  her  to  a 
florist  and  he  went  and  there  she  purchased  some  smilax 
and  intertwined  hlacs  and  wrote  on  a  card,  'With  my  love,' 
and  signed  her  given  name. 

"The  doctor  went  back  to  the  hospital  and  his  patient 
was  tossing  in  fitful  slumber.  He  laid  the  flowers  on  his 
breast  and  he  awoke  and  saw  the  flowers  and  buried  his 
head  in  them.  'Thanks  for  the  flowers,  doctor,'  he  said, 
but  the  doctor  said,  'They  are  not  from  me.' 

"'Then  who  are  they  from?' 

"'Guess!' 

"a  can't;  teU  me.' 


^^QlYE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING"       126 

"*I  think  you'll  find  the  name  on  the  card/  the  doctor 
told  him,  and  he  looked  and  read  the  card,  'With  my  love/ 

"  'Tell  me,'  he  cried,  'did  she  write  that  of  her  free  will 
or  did  you  beg  her  to  do  it?'  The  doctor  told  him  she  had 
begged  to  do  it  herseK. 

"Then  you  ought  to  have  seen  him.  The  next  day  he 
was  sitting  up.  The  next  day  he  ate  some  gruel.  The  next 
day  he  was  in  a  chair.  The  next  day  he  could  hobble  on 
crutches.  The  next  day  he  threw  one  of  them  away.  The 
next  day  he  threw  the  cane  away  and  the  next  day  he  could 
walk  pretty  well.  On  the  ninth  day  there  was  a  quiet 
wedding  in  the  annex  of  the  hospital.  You  laugh;  but 
listen :  This  old  world  is  hke  a  hospital.  Here  are  the  wards 
for  the  Hbertines.  Here  are  the  wards  for  the  drunkards. 
Here  are  the  wards  for  the  blasphemers.  Everywhere  I 
look  I  see  scarred  humanity. 

"Nineteen  hundred  years  ago  God  looked  over  the 
battlements  of  heaven  and  he  picked  a  basket  of  flowers, 
and  then  one  day  he  dropped  a  baby  into  the  manger  at 
Bethlehem.  'For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his 
only  begotten  Son  that  whosoever  beUeveth  on  him  should 
not  perish  but  have  everlasting  life.'   What  more  can  he  do? 

"But  God  didn't  spare  him.  They  crucified  him,  but 
he  burst  the  bonds  of  death  and  the  Holy  Spirit  came 
down.  They  banished  John  to  the  isle  of  Patmos  and  there 
he  wrote  the  words:  'Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock; 
if  any  man  hear  my  voice  and  open  the  door  I  shall  come 
in  to  him  and  sup  with  him  and  he  with  me.'  " 

The  Sinking  Ship 

"Years  ago  there  was  a  ship  on  the  Atlantic  and  a 
storm  arose.  The  ship  sprung  a  leak  and  in  spite  of  all  the 
men  could  do  they  could  not  pump  out  the  water  fast  enough. 
The  captain  called  the  men  to  him  and  told  them  that  he 
had  taken  observations  and  bearings  and  said  unless  the 
leak  was  stopped  in  ten  hours  the  boat  would  be  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sea,     'I  want  a  man  who  will  volunteer  his 


126      "GIVE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING^^ 

life  to  stay  the  intake.  It's  in  the  second  hold  and  about 
the  size  of  a  man's  arm  and  some  one  can  place  his  arm  in 
the  hole  and  it  will  hold  back  the  water  until  we  can  get  it 
pumped  out  enough.' 

"Not  a  man  stirred.  They  said  they  would  go  back 
to  the  pumps  and  they  did.  They  worked  hard  and  when  a 
man  dropped  they  would  drag  him  away  and  revive  him  and 
bring  him  back.  The  captain  called  them  again  and  told 
them  it  was  no  use  unless  it  was  changed.  They  would  be 
at  the  bottom  before  ten  hours  unless  some  one  volunteered 
and  in  less  time  than  that  if  a  storm  arose.  Then  one  stepped 
batik.    'What!  My  boy!' 

"'Yes,  father,  ril  go.' 

"He  sent  some  endearing  words  to  his  mother,  took  one 
last  look  at  the  sky  and  kissed  his  father  and  bade  the  sailors 
good-bye,  and  went  below.  He  foxmd  the  leak  and  placed 
his  arm  in  it  and  packed  rags  around  it  and  the  men  went 
back  to  the  pumps.  When  day  broke  they  saw  the  body 
floating  and  swaying  in  the  water,  but  the  arm  was  still  in 
the  hole.  And  the  vessel  sailed  into  port  safe.  There  on 
the  coast  today  stands  a  monument  to  perpetuate  the  deed. 

"Nineteen  hundred  years  ago  this  old  world  sprung  a 
leak.  God  asked  for  volunteers  to  stop  it,  and  all  of  the 
angels  and  seraphim  stood  back,  Noah,  Abraham,  Elijah, 
Isaiah,  David,  Jeremiah,  Solomon,  none  would  go,  and  then 
forth  stepped  his  Son  and  said:  'Father,  I'll  go,'  and  de- 
scended, and  died  on  the  cross;   but 

'"  'Up  from  the  grave  he  arose, 

With  a  mighty  triumph  o'er  his  foes. 
He  arose  a  victor  from  the  dark  domain 
And  he  lives  forever  with  his  saints  to  reigo. 
Hallelujah,  Christ  arose!' 

He  bm^t  the  bonds  of  death,  and  the  gates  of  heaven,  while 
the  angels  sang  and  would  crown  him  yet.  '  Let  me  stand 
between  God  and  the  people,'  and  there  he  stands  today, 
the  Mediator,  with  the  salvation,  full,  free,  perfect,  and 


"GIVE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING"       127 

eternal  in  one  hand  and  the  sword  of  inflexible  justice  in  the 
other.  The  time  will  come  when  he'll  come  with  his  angels; 
some  day  he  will  withdraw  his  offer  of  salvation. 

"Come  and  accept  my  Christ!  Who'll  come  and  get 
under  the  blood  with  me?" 

"  What  If  It  Had  Been  My  Boy?  " 

"  *  Say,  papa,  can  I  go  with  you?'  asked  a  little  boy  of 
his  father.  'Yes,  son,  come  on,'  said  the  father,  as  he  threw 
the  axe  over  his  shoulder  and  accompanied  by  a  friend, 
went  to  the  woods  and  felled  a  tree. 

"The  little  fellow  said:  'Say,  papa,  can  I  go  and  play 
in  the  water  at  the  lagoon?'  'Yes,  but  be  careful  and  don't 
get  into  deep  water;  keep  close  to  the  bank.'  The  Uttle 
fellow  was  playing,  digging  wells,  picking  up  stones  and 
shells  and  talking  to  himself,  when  pretty  soon  the  father 
heard  him  cry,  'Hurry,  papa,  hurry.' 

"The  father  leaped  to  his  feet,  grabbed  the  axe  and  ran 
to  the  lagoon  and  saw  the  boy  floundering  in  deep  water, 
hands  outstretched,  a  look  of  horror  on  his  face  as  he  cried, 
'Hurry,  papa;  hurry;  the  alligator  has  got  me.'  The 
hideous  amphibious  monster  had  been  hibernating  and  had 
come  out,  lean,  lank,  hungry,  voracious,  and  seized  the  boy. 

"  The  father  leaped  into  the  lagoon  and  was  just  about 
to  sink  the  axe  through  the  head  of  the  monster  when  he 
turned  and  swished  the  water  with  his  huge  tail  like  the 
screw  of  an  ocean  steamer,  and  the  Uttle  fellow  cried  out: 

'Hurry,  papa;   hurry,  hurry,  hur '     The  water  choked 

him.  The  blood-flecked  foam  told  the  story.  The  father 
went  and  got  men  and  they  plunged  in  and  felt  around  and 
all  they  ever  carried  home  to  his  mother  was  just  two 
handfuls  of  crushed  bones. 

"When  I  read  that,  for  days  I  could  not  eat,  for  nights 
I  could  not  sleep.  I  said,  '  Oh,  God,  what  if  that  had  been 
my  boy?' 

"  There  are  influences  worse  than  an  alligator  and  they 
are  ripping  and  tearing  to  shreds  your  virtue,  your  moraUty. 


128      "GIVE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING" 

Young  men  are  held  by  intemperance,  others  by  vice,  drunlc- 
ards  crying  to  the  Church,  'Hurry,  faster,'  and  the  chiu-ch 
members  sit  on  the  bank  playing  cards,  sit  there  drinking 
beer  and  reading  novels.  'Hurry.'  They  are  spUttmg 
hairs  over  fool  things,  criticizing  me  or  somebody  else,  instead 
of  trying  to  keep  sinners  out  of  hell,  and  they  are  crying 
to  the  Church, '  Faster !    Faster !    Faster !'  '  Lord,  is  it  I? ' 

"  "How  many  will  say,  'God,  I  want  to  be  nearer  to  you 
than  I  have  ever  been  before.  I  want  to  renew  my  vows. 
I  want  to  get  under  the  cross.'     How  many  will  say  it? 

"Who'll  yield  his  heart  to  Christ?  Who'll  take  his 
stand  for  the  Lord?    Who'll  come  out  clean-cut  for  God?  " 

A  Dream  of  Heaven 

"Some  years  ago,  after  I  had  been  romping  and  playing 
with  the  children,  I  grew  tired  and  lay  down,  and  half  awake 
and  half  asleep,  I  had  a  dream. 

"I  dreamed  I  was  in  a  far-off  land;  it  was  not  Persia, 
but  all  the  glitter  and  gaudy  raiment  were  there;  it  was  not 
India,  although  her  coral  strands  were  there;  it  was  not 
Ceylon,  although  all  the  beauties  of  that  island  of  paradise 
were  there;  it  was  not  Italy,  although  the  soft  dreamy  haze 
of  the  blue  Italian  skies  shone  above  me.  I  looked  for  weeds 
and  briars,  thorns  and  thistles  and  brambles  and  found  none. 
I  saw  the  sun  in  all  its  regal  splendor  and  I  said  to  the 
people,  'When  will  the  sim  set  and  it  grow  dark?' 

"They  all  laughed  and  said:  'It  never  grows  dark  in 
this  land;  there  is  no  night  here.' 

"I  looked  at  the  people,  their  faces  wreathed  in  a  simple 
halo  of  glory,  attired  in  holiday  clothing.  I  said:  'When 
will  the  working  men  go  by  clad  in  overalls?  and  where  are 
the  brawny  men  who  work  and  toil  over  the  anvil?' 

"They  said,  'We  toil  not,  neither  do  we  spin;  there 
remaineth  a  rest  for  the  people  of  God.' 

"I  strolled  out  in  the  suburbs.  I  said,  'Where  are  the 
graveyards,the  grave-diggers?  Wheredo  you  bury  your  dead?' 

"They  said,  'We  never  die  here.' 


"GIVE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING"       129 

"I  looked  out  and  saw  the  towers  and  spires;  I  looked 
at  them,  but  I  did  not  see  any  tombstones,  mausoleums, 
green  or  flower-covered  graves.  I  said,  'Where,  where  are 
the  hearses  that  carry  your  dead?  Where  are  the  under- 
takers that  embalm  the  dead?' 

"They  said,  'We  never  die  in  this  land/ 

*'I  said,  'Where  are  the  hospitals  where  they  take  the 
sick?  Where  is  the  minster,  and  where  are  the  nurses  to 
give  the  gentle  touch,  the  panacea?' 

"They  said,  'We  never  grow  sick  in  this  land.' 

"I  said,  'Where  are  the  homes  of  want  and  squalor? 
Where  Uve  the  poor?' 

•'They  said,  'There  is  no  penury;  none  die  here; 
none  ever  cry  for  bread  in  this  land.'  I  was  bewildered.  I 
strolled  along  and  heard  the  ripple  of  the  waters  as  the  waves 
broke  against  the  jeweled  beach.  I  saw  boats  with  oars 
dipped  with  silver,  bows  of  pure  gold.  I  saw  multitudes  that 
no  man  could  number.  We  all  jumped  down  through 
the  violets  and  varicolored  flowers,  the  air  pulsing  with  bird 
song,  and  I  cried, 

"'Are — all — ^here?'    And  they  echoed, 

"'All— are— here.' 

"And  we  went  leaping  and  shouting  and  vied  with 
bower  and  spire,  and  they  all  caroled  and  sung  my  welcome, 
and  we  all  bounded  and  leaped  and  shouted  with  glee, 
'Home — ^Home — Home.'  " 

The  Battle  With  Death 

"Just  one  thing  divides  you  people.  You  are  either 
across  the  line  of  safety,  or  you  are  outside  the  kingdom  of 
God.  Old  or  young,  rich  or  poor,  high  or  low,  ignorant  or 
educated,  white  or  colored,  each  of  you  is  upon  one  side  or 
upon  the  other. 

"  The  young  man  who  talked  to  Jesus  didn't  let  an  infidel 
persuade  him,  and  neither  should  you. 

"The  time  will  come  when  his  head  will  lie  on  his  pillow 
and  his  fevered  head  will  toss  from  side  to  side. 


130      "GIVE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING" 


door. 


'The  time  will  come  when  there  will  be  a  rap  on  the 


"  'Who  are  you?' 
"'Death.' 

"*I  didn't  send  for  you.    Why  do  you  come  here?' 
, "  'Nobody  sends  for  me.    I  choose  my  own  time.    If  1 
waited  for  people  to  send  for  me  I  would  never  come.' 
"'But  don't  come  in  now,  Death.' 
"'I  am  coming  in.     I  have  waited  for  a  long  time.     I 
have  held  a  mortgage  on  you  for  fifty  years,  and  I've  come 
to  foreclose.' 

"  'But,  ak,  Death,  I'm  not  ready.' 

"'Hush!  Hush! 
I've  come  ^to  take 
you.  You  must 
come.* 

"  'De  a  t  h  ! 
Death!  Go  get  my 
pocketbook,  there! 
Go  get  my  bankbook! 
Go  get  the  key  to  my 
safety  deposit  box! 
Take  my  gold  watch, 
my  jewelry,  my  lands, 
my  home,  everything 
I've  got,  I'll  give  all 
to  you  if  you'll  only 

go.' 

"But  Death  says,  'I've  come  for  you.  I  don't  want 
your  money  or  your  land  or  anything  that  you  have.  You 
must  come  with  me.' 

'"Death!  Death!  Don't  blow  that  icy  breath  upon 
me.     Don't  crowd  me  against  the  wall!' 

"  'You  must  come!  You  have  a  week — ^you  have  five 
days — ^you  have  one  day — ^you  have  twelve  hours — you 
have  one  hour — ^you  have  thirty  minutes — you  have  ten 
minutes — ^you  have  one  minute — ^you  have  thirty  seconds— = 


"  But  Death  Says,  'I've  Comb  for  You  ' " 


"GIVE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING"       131 

you  have  ten  seconds!  I'll  count  them — one — two — three — 
four — five — six — ha !   ha ! — seven — eight — ^nine — ten !' 

''He's  gone.  Telephone  for  the  undertaker.  Carry 
him  to  the  graveyard.  Lay  him  beside  his  mother.  She 
died  saying,  'I'm  sweeping  thi'ough  the  gates,  washed  in 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb.'  He  died  shrieking,  'Don't  blow 
that  cold  breath  in  my  face!  Don't  crowd  me  against  the 
wall!'  Oh!  God,  don't  let  that  old  infidel  keep  you  out  of 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

"Who'll  come  into  the  kingdom  of  God?  Come 
quick — quick — quick !" 

"  Christ  or  Nothing  " 

"  'And  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  the  Father  in  my  name, 
that  will  I  do,  that  the  Father  may  be  glorified  in  the  Son.' 
No  man  can  be  saved  without  Jesus  Christ.  There's  no  way 
to  God  unless  you  come  through  Jesus  Christ.  It's  Jesus 
Christ  or  nothing. 

"At  the  close  of  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg  the  country 
roundabout  was  overrun  by  Federals  or  Confederates, 
wounded  or  ill,  and  the  people  helped  both  alike.  ReUef 
corps  were  organized  in  all  the  little  towns.  In  one  of 
them — I  think  it  was  York — a  man  who  had  headed  the  com- 
mittee, resigned  as  chairman  and  told  his  clerk  not  to  send 
any  more  soldiers  to  him.  There  came  a  Union  soldier  with 
a  blood-stained  bandage  and  with  crutches  that  he  had 
made  for  himself,  and  asked  to  see  this  man.  'I  am  no 
longer  chairman  of  the  committee,'  said  the  man,  'and  I 
cannot  help  you,  for  if  I  were  to  make  any  exception  to  the 
rule,  I  would  be  overrun  \\dth  apphcants.' 

"'But,'  said  the  soldier,  'I  don't  want  to  ask  you  for 
anything.  I  only  want  to  give  you  a  letter.  It  is  from  your 
eon,  who  is  dead.  I  was  with  him,  when  he  died.  When 
he  was  wounded  I  got  him  a  canteen  of  water  and  propped 
him  up  against  a  tree  and  held  his  hand  when  he  wrote. 
I  know  where  he  lies.'  The  father  took  the  letter,  and  he 
read  it.    It  said,  'Treat  this  soldier  kindly  for  my  sake.' 


132      "GIVE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING" 

Then  it  told  how  he  had  helped  the  writer — the  dying  boy. 
The  father  said,  'You  must  come  with  me  to  his  mother.' 
She  saw  them  coming  and  cried  out,  'Have  you  any  news  of 
my  boy?'  The  father  said,  'Here  is  a  letter — ^read  it.' 
She  read  it  and  shrieked.  They  took  the  wounded  soldier 
into  their  home,  'Won't  you  stay  with  us  and  be  our  son? 
You  were  his  friend,  you  were  with  him  at  the  last,  you  look 
like  him,  your  voice  reminds  us  of  him.  When  you  speak 
and  we  turn  our  faces  away,  we  can  almost  think  he  is  here. 
Let  us  adopt  you.  Won't  you  do  it?'  He  heard  their  plea, 
and  he  was  touched  and  he  stayed.  So  heaven  will  hear 
your  prayer  if  it  is  in  the  name  of  Christ. 

"When  I  go  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  God  will  stop 
making  worlds  to  hear  me. 

"Lord,  teach  us  how  to  pray." 

Calvary 

"There  comes  Judas,  leading  the  devil's  crowd,  the 
churchly  gang.  Don't  forget  that  Jesus  was  crucified  by 
church  members  whose  sins  he  rebuked.  Judas  said,  'The 
fellow  that  I  kiss,  that's  Jesus.'  Look  at  the  snake  on  his 
sanctimonious  countenance.  He  said,  'Hail,  Master,'  and 
he  kissed  him. 

"Jesus  said,  'Judas,  betrayest  thou  the  Son  of  Man  with 
a  kiss?' 

"And  they  staggered  back.     'Whom  seek  ye?* 
"'We  are  all  looking  for  Jesus  of  Nazareth.' 
"*A11  right,  I  am  he.'     They  staggered  again,  and 
Judas  led  them  on. 

"They  rushed  up  and  seized  Jesus  Christ.  When  start- 
ing for  Calvary  they  put  a  cross  on  his  back.  He  was  tired 
and  he  staggered  and  stumbled,  then  fell,  but  he  climbed  up 
and  a  fellow  smote  him  and  said,  'Ha,  ha,'  and  the  young 
fellow  spat  upon  him.  They  cursed  him  and  damned  him. 
What  for?  Because  he  came  to  open  up  a  plan  of  redemp- 
tion to  keep  you  and  me  out  of  hell;  and  yet  you  live  a  life 
of  disgrace.     On  he  went  and  along  came  a  oc^ored  man 


BiLLT  Jb.,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sunday  and  Paul. 


"GIVE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING"       133 

named  Simon  and  they  put  the  cross  on  his  back  and  he 
went  dragging  if  for  Jesus.  The  colored  race  has  borne 
many  a  burden  in  the  advancement  of  civiUzation,  but  a 
grander  burden  has  never  been  on  the  back  of  black  or  white, 
than  when  Simon  bore  the  Master's  cross. 

"On  they  went  and  seized  him,  and  I  can  see  his  arms 
as  they  pounded  the  nails  through  his  hands  and  his  feet. 
Another  fellow  digs  a  hole,  and  I  can  hear  the  cross  as  it 
'chugs'  in  the  hole,  and  they  lift  him  between  heaven  and 
earth.  Then  the  disciples  forsook  him  and  fled.  Left 
him  all  alone.  How  many  will  go  with  Jesus  to  the  last 
ditch?  Thousands  will  die  for  him,  but  there  is  another 
set  that  will  not. 

"The  disciples  followed  him  to  the  garden,  but  forsook 
him  at  the  cross. 

"If  we  had  been  there  we  might  have  seen  the  hill-tops 
and  the  tree-tops  filled  and  covered  with  angels,  and  houses 
crowded.  As  Jesus  hung  on  the  cross  and  cried,  'I  thirst,' 
a  Jew  ran  and  dipped  a  sponge  in  wormwood  and  gall  and 
vinegar  and  put  it  on  a  reed  and  put  it  up  to  his  lips.  Then 
Jesus  cried,  'My  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?'  There 
he  hung,  feeling  the  burden  of  yom*  guilt,  you  booze-fighter, 
you  libertine,  you  dead-beat.  'My  God,  hast  thou  forsaken 
me?'  he  cried,  and  I  imagine  that  the  archangel  cried,  "Oh, 
Jesus,  if  you  want  me  to  come  and  sweep  the  howling, 
blood-thirsty  mob  into  hell,  lift  your  head  and  look  me  in 
the  face  and  I  will  come.' 

"But  Jesus  gritted  his  teeth  and  struggled  on,  and  the 
archangel  again  cried,  '  Oh,  Jesus,  if  you  want  me  to  come, 
tear  your  right  hand  loose  from  the  cross  and  wave  it,  and 
I  will  come.'  But  Jesus  just  clenched  his  fist  over  the  nails. 
What  for?  To  keep  you  out  of  hell.  Then  tell  me  why 
you  are  indifferent.    Aiid  soon  he  cried,  'It  is  finished.' 

"The  Holy  Spirit  plucked  the  olive  branch  of  peace 
back  through  the  gates  of  heaven  from  the  cross  and  winged 
his  way  and  cried,  'Peace!  Peace  has  been  made  by  his 
death  on  the  cross.'  That  is  what  he  had  to  do.  That 
was  his  duty." 


134      "GIVE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING" 

The  World  for  God 

"A  heathen  woman  named  Panathea  was  famous  for 
her  great  beauty,  and  King  Cyrus  wanted  her  for  his  harem. 
He  sent  his  representatives  to  her  and  offered  her  money 
and  jewels  to  come,  but  she  repulsed  them  and  spurned 
their  advances.  Again  he  sent  them,  this  time  with  offers 
still  more  generous  and  tempting;  but  again  she  sent  them 
away  with  scorn.  A  third  time  they  were  sent,  and  a  third 
time  she  said,  'Nay.'  Then  King  Cyrus  went  in  person  to 
see  her,  and  he  doubled  and  trebled  and  quadrupled  the 
offers  his  men  had  made,  but  still  she  would  not  go.  She 
told  him  that  she  was  a  wife,  and  that  she  was  true  to  her 
husband. 

"He  said,  'Panathea,  where  dwellest  thou?' 

"  Tn  the  arms  and  on  the  breast  of  my  husband,'  she 
said. 

" '  Take  her  away,'  said  Cyrus.  '  She  is  of  no  use  to  me.' 
Then  he  put  her  husband  in  command  of  the  charioteers  and 
sent  him  into  battle  at  the  head  of  the  troops.  Panathea 
knew  what  this  meant— that  her  husband  had  been  sent  in 
that  he  might  be  killed.  She  waited  while  the  battle  raged, 
and  when  the  field  was  cleared  she  shouted  his  name  and 
searched  for  him  and  finally  found  him  wounded  and  dying. 
She  knelt  and  clasped  him  in  her  arms,  and  as  they  kissed, 
his  lamp  of  life  went  out  forever.  King  Cyrus  heard  of  the 
man's  death,  and  came  to  the  field.  Panathea  saw  him 
coming,  careening  on  his  camel  like  a  ship  in  a  storm.  She 
called,  '  Oh,  husband !  He  comes — he  shall  not  have  me.  I 
was  true  to  you  in  life,  and  will  be  true  to  you  in  death!' 
And  she  drew  her  dead  husband's  poniard  from  its  sheath, 
drove  it  into  her  own  breast  and  fell  dead  across  the  body. 

"King  Cyrus  came  up  and  dismounted.  He  removed 
his  turban  and  knelt  by  the  dead  husband  and  wife,  and 
thanked  God  that  he  had  found  in  his  kingdom  one  true  and 
virtuous  woman  that  his  money  could  not  buy,  nor  his 
power  intimidate. 

''Oh,  preachers,  the  problem  of  this  century  is  the  pro- 


"GIVE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING"       135 

Diem  of  the  first  century.  We  must  win  the  world  for  God 
and  we  will  win  the  world  for  God  just  as  soon  as  we  have 
men  and  women  who  will  be  faithful  to  God  and  will  not  He 
and  will  not  sell  out  to  the  devil." 

A  Word  Picture 

"Every  day  at  noon,  while  IngersoU  was  lecturing, 
Hastings  would  go  to  old  Farwell  Hall  and  answer  Inger- 
soll's  statements  of  the  night  before.  One  night  Ingersoll 
painted  one  of  those  wonderful  word  pictures  for  which  he 
was  justly  famous.  He  was  a  master  of  the  use  of  words. 
Men  and  women  would  applaud  and  cheer  and  wave  their 
hats  and  handkerchiefs,  and  the  waves  of  sound  would  rise 
and  fall  like  great  waves  of  the  sea.  As  two  men  were 
going  home  from  his  lecture,  one  of  them  said  to  the  other: 
'Bob  certainly  cleaned  'em  up  tonight.'  The  other  man 
said:  'There's  one  thing  he  didn't  clean  up.  He  didn't 
clean  up  the  religion  of  my  old  mother.' 

"This  is  the  word  picture  Ingersoll  painted: 

"'I  would  rather  have  been  a  French  peasant  and  worn 
wooden  shoes;  I  would  rather  have  Uved  in  a  hut,  with  a 
vine  growing  over  the  door  and  the  grapes  growing  and 
ripening  in  the  autumn  sun;  I  would  rather  have  been  that 
peasant,  with  my  wife  by  my  side  and  my  children  upon  my 
knees  twining  their  arms  of  affection  about  me;  I  would 
rather  have  been  that  poor  French  peasant  and  gone  down 
at  least  to  the  eternal  promiscuity  of  the  dust,  followed  by 
those  who  loved  me;  I  would  a  thousand  times  rather  have 
been  that  French  peasant  than  that  imperial  incarnation  of 
force  and  murder  (Napoleon) ;  and  so  I  would  ten  thousand 
times.' 

"What  was  that?  Simply  a  word  picture.  It  was  only 
the  trick  of  an  orator. 

"  Let  me  paint  for  you  a  picture,  and  see  if  it  doesn't 
make  you  feel  Uke  leaping  and  shouting  hallelujahs. 

"InfideUty  has  never  won  a  drunkard  from  his  cups. 
It  has  never  redeemed  a  fallen  woman  from  her  unchastity. 


136      ^'GIVE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING" 

It  has  never  built  a  hospital  for  the  crushed  and  sick.  It 
has  never  dried  tears.  It  has  never  built  a  mission  for  the 
rescue  of  the  down-and-out.  It  wouldn't  take  a  ream,  or 
a  quire,  or  a  sheet,  or  even  a  line  of  paper  to  write  down  what 
infidelity  has  dor^s  to  better  and  gladden  the  world. 

"What  has  infidehty  done  to  benefit  the  world?  What 
has  it  ever  done  to  help  humanity  in  any  way?  It  never 
built  a  school,  it  never  built  a  church,  it  never  built  an 
asylum  or  a  home  for  the  poor.  It  never  did  anything  for 
the  good  of  man.  I  challenge  the  combined  forces  of 
unbeUef.    They  have  failed  utterly. 

"Well  may  Christianity  stand  today  and  point  to  its 
hospitals,  its  churches  and  its  schools  with  their  towers 
and  the  spires  pointing  to  the  soiu-ce  of  their  inspiration  and 
say:  *  These  are  the  works  that  I  do.' 

"I  would  rather  have  been  a  French  peasant  and  worn 
wooden  shoes;  I  would  rather  have  lived  in  a  hut,  with  a 
vine  growing  over  the  door  and  grapes  growing  and  ripening 
in  the  autumn  sun;  I  would  rather  have  been  that  peasant, 
with  my  wife  and  children  by  my  side  and  the  open  Bible 
on  my  knees,  at  peace  with  the  world  and  at  peace  with 
Grod;  I  would  rather  have  been  that  poor  peasant  and  gone 
down  at  least  in  the  promiscuity  of  the  dust,  with  the 
certainty  that  my  name  was  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of 
life  than  to  have  been  that  brilliant  infidel  whose  tricks  of 
oratory  charmed  thousands  and  sent  souls  to  hell." 

The  Faithful  Pilot 

"Some  years  ago  a  harbor  pilot  in  Boston,  who  had  held 
a  commission  for  sixty-five  years  (you  know  the  harbor 
pilots  and  the  ocean  pilots  are  different).  For  sixty-five 
years  he  had  guided  ships  in  and  out  of  the  Boston  harbor, 
but  his  time  to  die  had  come.  Presently  the  watchers  at 
his  bedside  saw  that  he  was  trying  to  sit  up,  and  they 
aided  him.     'I  see  a  Hght,'  he  said. 

"  'Is  it  the  Minot  light?'  they  asked  him. 

"'No,  that  is  first  white  and  then  red;  this  one  is  all 


"GIVE  ATTENDANCE  TO  READING"       137 

white  all  the  time/  and  he  fell  back.  After  a  few  moments 
he  struggled  to  rise  agaia.    *  I  see  a  light,'  he  gasped. 

" '  Is  it  the  Highland  Hght?' 

*'  'No,  that  one  is  red  and  then  black;  this  one  is  white 
all  the  time.'  And  he  fell  back  again  and  they  thought 
certainly  he  was  gone,  but  he  came  back  again  as  if  from 
the  skies  and  they  saw  his  lips  moving.     'I  see  a  hght.' 

'"Is  it  the  Boston  light;  the  last  as  you  pass  out?' 
they  asked. 

'"No,  that  one  is  red  all  the  time;  this  one  is  white 
all  the  time.'  And  his  hands  trembled  and  he  reached  out 
his  feeble  arms.  His  face  lighted  up  with  a  halo  of  glory. 
'I  see  a  light,'  he  gasped,  'and  it  is  the  light  of  glory.  Let 
the  anchor  drop.' 

**  'And  he  anchored  his  soiJ  in  the  haven  of  rest, 
To  sail  the  wild  seas  no  more: 
Tho'  the  tempest  may  beat  o'er  the  wild  stormy  deep, 
In  Jesus  I'm  safe  evermore.' 

"That's  where  you  ought  to  be.     Will  you  come?'* 


CHAPTER  XI 
Acrobatic  Preaching 

If  nine-tenths  of  you  were  as  weak  physically  as  you  are  spiritually, 
you  couldn't  walk. — Billt  Sunday. 

IF,  as  has  been  often  said,  inspiration  is  chiefly  perspira- 
tion, then  there  is  no  doubting  the  inspiration  of  Rev. 
WiUiam  A.  Sunday,  D.D.  Beyond  question  he  is  the 
most  vigorous  speaker  on  the  pubUc  platform  today.  One 
editor  estimates  that  he  travels  a  mile  over  his  platform  in 
every  sermon  he  delivers.  There  is  no  other  man  to  hken 
him  to :  only  an  athlete  in  the  pink  of  condition  could  endure 
the  gruelling  exertions  to  which  he  subjects  hunself  every 
day  of  his  campaigns.  The  stranger  who  sees  him  for  the 
first  time  is  certain  that  he  is  on  the  very  edge  of  a  complete 
collapse;  but  as  that  same  remark  has  been  made  for  years 
past,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  physical  instrument  may  be 
equal  to  its  task  for  a  long  time  to  come. 

People  understand  with  their  eyes  as  well  as  with  their 
ears;  and  Sunday  preaches  to  both.  The  intensity  of  his 
physical  exertions — gestures  is  hardly  an  adequate  word — 
certainly  enhances  the  effect  of  the  preacher's  earnestness. 
No  actor  on  the  dramatic  stage  works  so  hard.  Such 
passion  as  dominates  Sunday  cannot  be  simulated;  it 
is  the  soul  pouring  itself  out  through  every  pore  of  the 
body. 

Some  of  the  platform  activities  of  Sunday  make  specta- 
tors gasp.  He  races  to  and  fro  across  the  platform.  Like 
a  jack  knife  he  fairly  doubles  up  in  emphasis.  One  hand 
smites  the  other.  His  foot  stamps  the  floor  as  if  to  destroy 
it.  Once  I  saw  him  bring  his  clenched  fist  down  so  hard  on 
the  seat  of  a  chair  that  I  feared  the  blood  would  flow  and 
the  bones  be  broken.  No  posture  is  too  extreme  for  this 
restless  gymnast.    Yet  it  all  seems  natural.    Like  his  speech, 

(138) 


ACROBATIC  PREACHING 


139 


it  is  an  integral  part  of  the  man.  Every  muscle  of  his  body 
preaches  in  accord  with  his  voice. 

Be  it  whispered,  men  hke  this  unconventional  sort  of 
earnestness.  Whenever  they  are  given  a  chance,  most  men 
are  prone  to  break  the  trammels  of  sober  usage.  I  never 
yet  have  met  a  layman  who  has  been  through  a  Billy  Sunday 
campaign  who  had  a  single  word  of  criticism  of  the  platform 
gymnastics  of  the  evangeUst.  Theii'  reasoning  is  something 
hke  this:  On  the  stage,  where  men  undertake  to  represent 
a  character  or  a  truth,  they  use  all  arts  and  spare  themselves 
not  at  all.  Why  should  not  a  man  go  to  greater  lengths 
when  dealing  with  hving 
reahties  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance? 

Sunday  is  a  physical 
sermon.  In  a  unique  sense 
he  glorifies  God  with  his 
body.  Only  a  physique 
kept  in  tune  by  clean  hving 
and  right  usage  could  re- 
spond to  the  terrific  and 
unceasing  demands  which 
Sunday  makes  upon  it. 
When  in  a  sermon  he 
alludes  to  the  man  who  acts 

no  better  than  a  four-footed  brute,  Sunday  is  for  an  instant 
down  on  all  fours  on  the  platform  and  you  see  that  brute. 
As  he  pictiues  a  man  praying  he  sinks  to  his  knees  for  a 
single  moment.  When  he  talks  of  the  death-bed  penitent 
as  a  man  waiting  to  be  pumped  full  of  embalming  fluid,  he 
cannot  help  going  through  the  motions  of  pumping  in  the 
fluid.  He  remarks  that  death-bed  repentance  is  "burning 
the  candle  of  hfe  in  the  service  of  the  devil,  and  then  blowing 
the  smoke  in  God's  face" — and  the  last  phrase  is  accom- 
panied by  "pfouff!"  In  a  dramatic  description  of  the 
marathon  he  pictures  the  athlete  falling  prostrate  at  the 
goal  and — thud! — there  lies  the  evangehst  prone  on  the 


Sunday  is  for  an  Instant  Down  on 
All  Fours. 


140  ACROBATIC  PREACHING 

platform.  Only  a  skilled  base-ball  player,  with  a  long  drill 
in  sliding  to  bases,  could  thus  fling  himseK  to  the  floor 
without  serious  injiuy.  On  many  occasions  he  strips  off 
his  coat  and  talks  in  his  shirt  sleeves.  It  seems  impossible 
for  him  to  stand  up  behind  the  pulpit  and  talk  only  with  his 
mouth. 

The  fact  is,  Simday  is  a  bom  actor.  He  knows  how  to 
portray  truth  by  a  vocal  personahty.  When  he  describes 
the  traveler  playing  with  a  pearl  at  sea,  he  tosses  an  imagin- 
ary gem  into  the  air  so  that  the  spectators  hold  their  breath 
lest  the  ship  should  lurch  and  the  jewel  be  lost.  Words 
without  gesture  could  never  attain  this  triumph  of  oratory. 

A  hint  of  Sunday's  state  of  mind  which  drives  him  to 
such  earnestness  and  intensity  in  labor  is  found  in  quota- 
tions like  the  following: 

"You  will  agree  with  me,  in  closing,  that  I'm  not  a 
crank;  at  least  I  try  not  to  be.  I  have  not  preached  about 
my  first,  second,  third  or  hundredth  blessing.  I  have  not 
talked  about  baptism  or  immersion.  I  told  you  that  while 
I  was  here  my  creed  would  be:  'With  Christ  you  are  saved; 
without  him  you  are  lost.'  Are  you  saved?  Are  you  lost? 
Going  to  heaven?  Going  to  hell?  I  have  tried  to  build 
every  sermon  right  around  those  questions;  and  also  to 
steer  clear  of  anything  else,  but  I  want  to  say  to  you  in 
closing,  that  it  is  the  inspiration  of  my  hfe,  the  secret  of  my 
earnestness.  I  never  preach  a  sermon  but  that  I  think  it  may 
be  the  last  one  some  fellow  will  hear  or  the  last  I  shall  ever 
be  privileged  to  preach.  It  is  an  inspiration  to  me  that  some 
day  He  will  come. 

"  'It  may  be  at  morn,  when  the  day  is  awaking, 

When  darkness  through  sunlight  and  shadow  is  breaking, 
That  Jesus  will  come,  in  the  fullness  of  gloiy, 
To  receive  from  the  world  his  own. 

"  'Oh  joy.  Oh  delight,  to  go  without  dying. 
No  sickness,  no  sadness,  no  sorrow,  no  crying! 
Caught  up  with  the  Lord  in  the  clouds  of  glory 
When  be  comes  to  receive  from  the  world  his  own.' " 


"Wow— the  servant  of  Naaman 
entered  the  hut  of 
the  Prophet  Eli- 
sha  and  found 
him  sitting 
perched  up  on 
a  stool,  writ- 
ing on  Pa- 
pyrus, 
and 
he 
ex- 
plained 
how 
Naa- 
man 
had  the 
leprosy 
— and 
the  old 
prophet 
never 
got  up, 
but  just  said, 
'Tell  him  to 

bathe  in  the  Jordan  seven 
times— now  BEAT  IT  I 
BEAT  ITI' 

00 — 

So  the  servant  went 
back,    and     Naaman     .\ 
said,    'Well  did  you    \.\ 
see  him  ?' 

And  the  servant  said, 
Tes,  but  he's  a  queer  old 
duck — he  said  for  you  to 
bathe  in  the  Jordan  seven 
times.' 


— But  he  went  right  ahead  I 
First  he  stuck  one  toe  in — 
and  shivered  —but  finally — ■ 


— ^He  held  onto  his  nose  and 
shut  his  eyes  and  down  he 
wont — in  all  overt 


WELI^ 


!iCf  aaman  thought  he'd  take  a  chance 

— so  he  went  down  to  the  river 

bank   and  got  off  hij  clothes 

and   probably  about   t'.te   frst 

thing  he  did  was  to  stub  his  toe 

against  a  big  rock  I 

O-o-o-o-o-o-o  1 — 

— And  then — like  as  not 

— one  of  those  big  sand 

flies  sat  right  down  be- 

'tweenhis  shoulder  blades! 

We-e-e-e-e-e-e  U ! 


— And  then  up  he  came 
and  stamped  and  pounded 
and  spluttered  and  got 
water  out  of 
his  ears — 


— And  nothing  had  happened 
except  that  his  sores  began 
to  itch — but  when  he  had  dipped 
seven  times — his  flesh  was  made  whole 


mS  LEPROSY 
WAS  HEALED! 


A  Caricature  of  Billt  Sunday's  Emphatic  Wat  of  Preachino 


ACROBATIC  PREACHING  141 

"Go  straight  on  and  break  the  lion's  neck  and  turn  it 
into  a  beehive,  out  of  which  you  will  some  day  take  the  best 
and  sweetest  honey  ever  tasted,  for  the  flavor  of  a  dead  Hon 
in  the  honey  beats  that  of  clover  and  buckwheat  all  to 
pieces.  Be  a  man,  therefore,  by  going  straight  on  to  breathe 
the  air  that  has  in  it  the  smoke  of  battle. 

"Don't  spend  much  time  in  looking  for  an  easy  chair, 
with  a  soft  cushion  on  it,  if  you  would  write  your  name  high 
in  the  hall  of  fame  where  the  names  of  real  men  are  found. 
The  man  who  is  wiUing  to  be  carried  over  all  rough  places 
might  as  well  have  wooden  legs.  'He  is  not  worthy  of  the 
honeycomb  who  shuns  the  hive  because  the  bees  have  stings.' 
The  true  value  of  Hfe  lies  in  the  preciousness  of  striving. 
No  tears  are  ever  shed  for  the  chick  that  dies  in  its 
shell. 

"  'Did  you  tackle  the  trouble  that  came  your  way 

With  a  resolute  heart  and  cheerful? 
Or  hide  your  face  from  the  Ught  of  day 

With  a  craven  soul  and  fearful? 
Oh,  a  trouble  is  a  ton,  or  a  trouble  is  an  ounce, 

Or  a  trouble  is  what  you  make  it. 
And  it  isn't  the  fact  that  you're  hurt  that  counts—- 

But  only — ^How  did  you  take  it?'  " 

"This  poem  is  by  Paul  Lawrence  Dunbar,  the  negro 
poet: 

"  'The  Lord  had  a  Job  for  me,  but  I  had  bo  much  to  do, 
I  said:  "You  get  somebody  else — or,  wait  till  I  get  through. 
I  don't  know  how  the  Lord  came  out,  but  he  seemed  to  get  along — 
But  I  felt  kinda  sneakin'  like,  'cause  I  know'd  I  done  him  wrong — 
One  day  I  needed  the  Lord,  needed  hiTn  rnyself — ^needed  him  right  away — 
And  he  never  answered  me  at  all,  but  I  could  hear  him  say — 
Down  in  my  accusin'  heart — "Nigger,  I'se  got  too  much  to  do. 
You  get  somebody  else,  or  wait  till  I  get  through." 
Now  when  the  Lord  he  have  a  job  for  me,  I  never  tries  to  shirk; 
I  drops  what  I  have  on  hand  and  does  the  good  Lord's  work; 
And  my  affairs  can  nm  along,  or  wait  till  I  get  through, 
Nobody  else  can  do  the  job  that  God's  marked  out  for  jfoa.' " 


142  ACROBATIC  PREACHING 

*'I  will  tell  you  many  young  people  are  good  in  the 
beginning,  but  they  are  lilce  the  fellow  that  was  killed  by 
falling  off  a  skyscraper — they  stop  too  quick.  They  go  one 
day  like  a  six-cylinder  automobile  with  her  carbureters 
working;  the  next  day  they  stroll  along  like  a  fellow  walking 
through  a  graveyard  reading  the  epitaphs  on  the  tomb- 
stones. It  is  the  false  ideals  that  strew  the  shores  with 
wrecks,  eagerness  to  achieve  success  in  realms  we  can  not 
reach  that  breeds  half  the  ills  that  curse  today.  One 
hundred  years  from  tonight  what  difference  will  it  make 
whether  you  are  rich  or  poor;  whether  learned  or  iUiterate. 

"  *  It  matters  little  where  I  was  bom, 

Whether  my  parents  were  rich  or  poor; 
Whether  they  shrunk  from  the  cold  world's  scorn, 

Or  lived  in  pride  of  wealth  secm-e. 
But  whether  I  live  an  honest  man, 

And  hold  my  integrity  firm  in  my  clutch; 
I  tell  you — ^my  neighbor — as  plain  as  I  can, 

That  matters  much.' 

"The  engineer  is  bigger  than  the  locomotive,  because 
he  nins  it. 

"Do  your  best  and  you  will  never  wear  out  shoe  leather 
looking  for  a  job.  Do  your  best,  and  you  will  never  become 
blind  reading  'Help  Wanted'  ads  in  a  newspaper.  Be  like  the 
fellow  that  went  to  college  and  tacked  the  letter  V  up  over 
his  door  in  his  room.  He  was  asked  what  that  stood  for, 
and  he  said  valedictorian,  and  he  went  out  carrying  the 
valedictory  with  him. 

"  'If  I  were  a  cobbler,  best  of  all  cobblers  I  would  be. 

If  I  were  a  tinker,  no  tinker  beside  should  mend  an  old  tea  kettle  for  me.' " 

In  dealing  with  the  unreahty  of  many  preachers,  Sunday 
pictures  a  minister  as  going  to  the  store  to  buy  groceries 
for  his  wife,  but  using  his  pulpit  manner,  his  pulpit  tone  of 
voice  and  his  pulpit  phraseology.  This  is  so  true  to  life 
that  it  convulses  every  congregation  that  hears  it.    In  these 


ACROBATIC  PREACHING  143 

few  minutes  of  mimicry  the  evangelist  does  more  to  argue 
for  reality  and  genuineness  and  unprofessionalism  on  the 
part  of  the  clergy  than  could  be  accomplished  by  an  hour's 
lecture. 

Another  of  his  famous  passages  is  his  portrayal  of  the 
society  woman  nui-sing  a  pug  dog.  You  see  the  woman  and 
you  see  the  dog,  and  you  love  neither  one.  Likewise, 
Sunday  mimics  the  skin-flint  hypocrite  in  a  way  to  make  the 
man  represented  loathe  himself. 

This  suggests  a  second  fact  about  Sunday's  preaching. 
He  often  makes  people  laugh,  but  rarely  makes  them  cry. 
JEis  sense  of  hmnor  is  stronger  than  his  sense  of  pathos. 
Now  tears  and  hysterics  are  supposed  to  be  part  of  the 
stock  in  trade  of  the  professional  evangelist.  Not  so  with 
Sunday.  He  makes  sin  absurd  and  foolish  as  well  as  wicked ; 
and  he  makes  the  sinner  ashamed  of  himself.  He  ha^ 
recovered  for  the  Church  the  use  of  that  powerful  weapon, 
the  barb  of  ridicule.  There  are  more  instruments  of  warfare 
in  the  gospel  armory  than  the  average  preacher  commonly 
uses.  Sunday  endeavors  to  employ  them  all,  and  his 
favorites  seem  to  be  humor,  satire  and  scorn. 

As  a  physical  performance  the  preaching  to  crowds  of 
from  ten  to  twenty-five  thousand  persons  every  day  is 
phenomenal.  Sunday  has  not  a  beautiful  voice  like  many 
great  orators.  It  is  husky  and  seems  strained  and  yet  it 
is  able  to  penetrate  every  comer  of  his  great  tabernacles. 
Nor  is  he  possessed  of  the  oratorical  manner,  "the  grand 
air"  of  the  rhetorician.  Mostly  he  is  direct,  informal  and 
colloquial  in  his  utterances.  But  he  is  so  dead  in  earnest 
that  after  every  address  he  must  make  an  entire  change  of 
raiment — and,  like  most  base-ball  players,  and  members 
of  the  sporting  fraternities,  he  is  fond  of  good  clothes,  even 
to  the  point  of  foppishness.  He  carries  about  a  dozen  differ- 
ent suits  with  him  and  I  question  whether  there  is  a  single 
Prince  Albert  or  ''preacher's  coat"  in  the  whole  outfit. 

A  very  human  figure  is  Billy  Sunday  on  the  platform. 
During  the  preliminaries  he  enjoys  the  music,  the  responses 


144  ACROBATIC  PREACHING 

of  the  delegations,  and  any  of  the  informalities  that  are 
common  accessories  of  his  meetings.  When  he  begins  to 
speak  he  is  an  autocrat  and  will  brook  no  disturbance.  He 
is  less  concerned  about  hurting  the  feelings  of  some  fidgety, 
restless  usher  or  auditor  than  he  is  about  the  comfort  of  the 
great  congregation  and  its  opportunity  to  hear  his  message. 

Any  notion  that  Sunday  loves  the  limehght  is  wide  of 
the  mark.  The  fact  is,  he  shuns  the  public  gaze.  It  really 
makes  him  nervous  to  be  pointed  out  and  stared  at.  That 
is  one  reason  why  he  does  not  go  to  a  hotel,  but  hires  a 
furnished  house  for  himself  and  his  associates.  Here  they 
"camp  out"  for  the  period  of  the  campaign,  and  enjoy 
something  Uke  the  family  life  of  every-day  American  folk. 
Their  hospitable  table  puts  on  no  more  frills  than  that  of 
the  ordinary  home.  The  same  cook  has  accompanied  the 
party  for  months;  and  when  a  family's  religion  so  commends 
itself  to  the  cook,  it  is  likely  to  grade  "A  No.  1  Hard,"  like 
Minnesota  wheat. 

"Ma,"  as  the  whole  party  call  Mrs.  Sunday,  is  respon- 
sible for  the  home,  as  well  as  for  many  meetings.  Primarily, 
though,  she  looks  after  "Daddy."  Simday  is  the  tj^e  of 
man  who  is  quite  helpless  with  respect  to  a  dozen  matters 
which  a  watchful  wife  attends  to.  He  needs  considerable 
looking  after,  and  all  his  friends,  from  the  newspaper  men 
to  the  poUceman  on  duty  at  the  house,  conspire  to  take  care 
of  him. 

The  Pittsburgh  authorities  assigned  a  couple  of  plain 
clothes  men  to  safeguard  Sunday;  of  course  he  "got  them" 
early,  as  he  gets  most  everybody  he  comes  into  touch  with. 
So  these  men  took  care  of  Sunday  as  if  he  were  the  famous 
"miUionaire  baby"  of  Washington  and  Newport.  Not  a 
sense  of  official  duty,  but  affectionate  personal  solicitude 
animated  those  two  men  who  rode  in  the  automobile  with 
us  from  the  house  to  the  Tabernacle. 

This  sort  of  thing  is  one  of  the  most  illuminating  phases 
of  the  Sunday  campaign.  Those  who  come  closest  to  the 
man  believe  most  in  his  religion.    As  one  of  the  newspaper 


ACROBATIC  PREACHING  145 

men  covering  the  meetings  said  to  me,  "The  newspaper  boys 
have  all  'hit  the  trail.'  "  Then  he  proved  his  religion  by 
oflfering  to  do  the  most  fraternal  services  for  me.  From 
Mrs.  Sunday,  though,  I  learned  that  there  was  one  bright 
reporter  who  had  worked  on  aspects  of  the  revival  who  had 
not  gone  forward.  He  avoided  the  meetings,  and  evaded  the 
personal  interviews  of  the  Sunday  party.  The  evangeUst's 
wife  was  as  sohcitous  over  that  one  young  man's  spiritual 
welfare  as  if  he  had  been  one  of  her  own  four  children. 

Ten  of  the  pohcemen  stationed  at  the  Tabernacle  went 
forward  the  night  before  I  arrived  in  Pittsburgh.  I  was  told 
that  twenty  others  were  waiting  to  ''hit  the  trail "  in  a  group, 
taking  their  families  with  them. 

The  personal  side  of  Sunday  is  wholesome  and  satis- 
factory. He  is  a  simple,  modest  chap,  marked  by  the  ways 
of  the  Middle  West.  Between  meetings  he  goes  to  bed,  and 
there  friends  sometimes  visit  him.  Met  thus  intimately, 
behind  the  scenes,  one  would  expect  from  him  an  unre- 
strained display  of  personality,  even  a  measure  of  egotism. 
Surely,  it  is  sometimes  to  be  permitted  a  man  to  recount  his 
achievements.  Never  a  boast  did  I  hear  from  Sunday. 
Instead,  he  seemed  absurdly  self -distrustful.  These  are 
his  times  for  gathering,  and  he  wanted  me  to  tell  him  about 
Bible  lands! 


10 


CHAPTER  XII 
"The  Old-Time  Religion" 

I  am  an  old-fashioned  preacher  of  the  old-time  reUgion,  that  has  warmed 
this  cold  world's  heart  for  two  thousand  years. — Billy  Sunday. 

MODERN  to  the  last  minute  Sunday's  methods  may 
be,  but  his  message  is  immistakably  the  "old-time 
religion."  He  believes  his  beliefs  without  a  ques- 
tion. There  is  no  twilight  zone  in  his  intellectual  processes; 
no  mental  reservation  in  his  preaching.  He  is  sure  that  man 
is  lost  without  Christ,  and  that  only  by  the  acceptance  of 
the  Saviour  can  fallen  humanity  find  salvation.  He  is  as  sure 
of  hell  as  of  heaven,  and  for  all  modernized  varieties  of 
reUgion  he  has  only  vials  of  scorn. 

In  no  single  particular  is  Sunday's  work  more  valuable 
than  in  its  revelation  of  the  power  of  positive  conviction  to 
attract  and  convert  multitudes.  The  world  wants  faith. 
"Intolerant,"  cry  the  scholars  of  Sunday;  but  the  hungry- 
myriads  accept  him  as  their  spiritual  guide  to  peace,  and  joy, 
and  righteousness.  The  world  wants  a  rehgion  with  salva- 
tion in  it;  speculation  does  not  interest  the  average  man  who 
seeks  deUverance  from  sin  in  himself  and  in  the  world.  He 
does  not  hope  to  be  evoluted  into  holiness;  he  wants  to  be 
redeemed. 

"Modernists"  sputter  and  fiune  and  rail  at  Sunday 
and  his  work:  but  they  cannot  deny  that  he  leads  men  and 
women  into  new  lives  of  holiness,  happiness  and  helpfulness. 
Churches  are  enlarged  and  righteousness  is  promoted,  all 
by  the  old,  blood-stained  way  of  the  Cross.  The  revivals 
which  have  followed  the  preaching  of  EvangeHst  Sunday 
are  supplemental  to  the  Book  of  the  Acts.  His  theology  is 
summed  up  in  the  words  Peter  used  in  referring  to  Jesus: 
"There  is  none  other  Name  imder  heaven  given  among  men 
whereby  we  must  be  saved." 

(146) 


"THE  OLD-TIME  RELIGION*^  147 

One  of  Sunday's  favorite  sayings  is:  "I  don't  know  any 
more  about  theology  than  a  jack-rabbit  does  about  ping- 
pong,  but  I'm  on  the  way  to  glory."  That  really  does  not 
fully  express  the  evangeUst's  point.  He  was  ai'guing  that 
"  theology  bears  the  same  relation  to  Christianity  that  botany 
does  to  flowers,  or  astronomy  to  the  stars.  Botany  is  re- 
written, but  the  flowers  remain  the  same.  Theology 
changes  (I  have  no  objection  to  your  new  theology  when  it 
tries  to  make  the  truths  of  Christianity  clearer),  but  Chris- 
tianity abides.  Nobody  is  kept  out  of  heaven  because  he 
does  not  understand  theology.  It  isn't  theology  that  saves, 
but  Christ;  it  is  not  the  saw-dust  trail  that  saves,  but  Christ 
in  the  motive  that  makes  you  hit  the  trail. 

"I  believe  the  Bible  is  the  word  of  God  from  cover  to 
cover.  I  believe  that  the  man  who  magnifies  the  word  of 
God  in  his  preaching  is  the  man  whom  God  will  honor. 
Why  do  such  names  stand  out  on  the  pages  of  history  as 
Wesley,  Whitefield,  Finney  and  Martin  Luther?  Because 
of  their  fearless  denunciation  of  all  sin,  and  because  they 
preach  Jesus  Christ  without  fear  or  favor. 

''But  somebody  says  a  revival  is  abnormal.  You  he! 
Do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  the  godless,  card-playing 
conditions  of  the  Church  are  normal?  I  say  they  are  not, 
but  it  is  the  abnormal  state.  It  is  the  sin-eaten,  apathetic 
condition  of  the  Chiuch  that  is  abnormal.  It  is  the  '  Dutch 
lunch'  and  beer  party,  card  parties  and  the  hke,  that  are 
abnormal.  I  say  that  they  he  when  they  say  that  a  revival 
is  an  abnormal  condition  in  the  Chiu"ch. 

"What  we  need  is  the  good  old-time  kind  of  revival 
that  will  cause  you  to  love  your  neighbors,  and  quit  talking 
about  them.  A  revival  that  will  make  you  pay  your  debts, 
and  have  family  prayers.  Get  that  kind  and  then  you  will 
see  that  a  revival  means  a  very  different  condition  from 
what  people  believe  it  does. 

"Christianity  means  a  lot  more  than  church  member- 
ship. Many  an  old  skin-flint  is  not  fit  for  the  balm  of  Gilead 
until  you  give  him  a  fly  bhster  and  get  after  him  with  a 


148  "THE  OLD-TIME  RELIGION'^ 

currycomb.  There  are  too  many  Sunday-school  teachers 
who  are  godless  card-players,  beer,  wine  and  champagne 
drinkers.  No  wonder  the  kids  are  going  to  the  devil.  No 
wonder  your  children  grow  up  like  cattle  when  you  have  no 
form  of  prayer  in  the  home.". 

THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  SUNDAY 

What  does  converted  mean?  It  means  completely 
changed.  Converted  is  not  synonymous  with  reformed. 
Reforms  are  from  without — conversion  from  within.  Con- 
version is  a  complete  surrender  to  Jesus.  It's  a  willingness 
to  do  what  he  wants  you  to  do.  Unless  you  have  made  a 
complete  surrender  and  are  doing  his  will  it  will  avail  you 
nothing  if  you've  reformed  a  thousand  times  and  have  your 
name  on  fifty  church  records. 

Beheve  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  your  heart  and 
confess  him  with  your  mouth  and  you  will  be  saved.  God  is 
good.  The  plan  of  salvation  is  presented  to  you  in  two 
parts.  Beheve  in  your  heart  and  confess  with  your  mouth. 
Many  of  you  here  probably  do  believe.  Why  don't  you 
confess?  Now  own  up.  The  truth  is  that  you  have  a  yellow 
streak.  Own  up,  business  men,  and  business  women,  and 
all  of  you  others.  Isn't  it  so?  Haven't  you  got  a  httle 
saffron?  Brave  old  EHjah  ran  like  a  scared  deer  when  he 
heard  old  Jezebel  had  said  she  would  have  his  head,  and  he 
beat  it.J  And  he  ran  to  Beersheba  and  lay  down  under  a 
juniper  tree  and  cried  to  the  Lord  to  let  him  die.  The  Lord 
answered  his  prayer,  but  not  in  the  way  he  expected.  If 
he  had  let  him  die  he  would  have  died  with  nothing  but  the 
wind  moaning  through  the  trees  as  his  funeral  dirge.  But 
the  Lord  had  something  better  for  Elijah.  He  had  a  chariot 
of  fire  and  it  swooped  down  and  carried  him  into  glory 
without  his  ever  seeing  death. 

So  he  says  he  has  something  better  for  you — salvation 
if  he  can  get  you  to  see  it.  You've  kept  your  church  mem- 
bership locked  up.  You've  smiled  at  a  smutty  story. 
When  God  and  the  Church  were  scoffed  at  you  never  peeped. 


Yoo  s*Y  \  ^*^  voor^mic- 

I  AM  DOQM/ITIC-THE 

)SP£L  OF  CHRIST    is 

1>0GM«TIC  — 


THIS  IS 

w/?rcH 


THAT 

IS  A 


PULPIT! 


I  STAND  FIRM 

^    , IN    MY    BELIEF  THAT 

THE  BIBLE  is  the   word  of 

GOD    ^ND  I  BELIEVE  IN  HELL" 

'tot  hades-  hell- 

H-E* DOUBLE  L\ 
with  fire  and 

BRIMSTONE! 


IT  IS    NOT 
rURMISHED 


AND  THEY  WONT 
SERVE  YOU  AUr 
BOOZE.    ON     A 

TRAYI 


EvEBT  Muscle  in  His  Body  Preaches  ik  Accord  with  His  Voicb^ 


"THE  OLD-TIME  RELIGION"  149 

and  when  asked  to  stand  up  here  you've  sneaked  out  the 
back  way  and  beat  it.  You're  afraid  and  God  despises  a 
coward — a  mutt.  You  cannot  be  converted  by  thinking  so 
and  sitting  still. 

Maybe  you're  a  drunkard,  an  adulterer,  a  prostitute, 
a  liar;  won't  admit  you  are  lost;  are  proud.  Maybe  you're 
even  proud  you're  not  proud,  and  Jesus  has  a  time  of  it. 

Jesus  said:  "Come  to  me,"  not  to  the  Church;  to  me, 
not  to  a  creed;  to  me,  not  to  a  preacher;  to  me,  not  to  an 
evangelist;  to  me,  not  to  a  priest;  to  me,  not  to  a  pope; 
"Come  to  me  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  Faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  saves  you,  not  faith  in  the  Church. 

You  can  join  church,  pay  your  share  of  the  preacher's 
salary,  attend  the  services,  teach  Sunday  school,  return 
thanks  and  do  everything  that  would  apparently  stamp  you 
as  a  Christian — even  pray — but  you  won't  ever  be  a  Christian 
until  you  do  what  God  tells  you  to  do. 

That's  the  road,  and  that's  the  only  one  mapped  out 
for  you  and  for  me.  God  treats  all  alike.  He  doesn't 
furnish  one  plan  for  the  banker  and  another  for  the  janitor 
who  sweeps  out  the  bank.  He  has  the  same  plan  for  one 
that  he  has  for  another.  It's  the  law — ^you  may  not 
approve  of  it,  but  that  doesn't  make  any  difference. 

Salvation  a  Personal  Matter 

The  first  thing  to  remember  about  being  saved  is  that 
salvation  is  a  personal  matter.  "Seek  ye  the  Lord" — that 
means  every  one  must  seek  for  himself.  It  won't  do  for 
the  parent  to  seek  for  the  children;  it  won't  do  for  the 
children  to  seek  for  the  parent.  If  you  were  sick  all  the 
medicine  I  might  take  wouldn't  do  you  any  good.  Salvation 
is  a  personal  matter  that  no  one  else  can  do  for  you;  you 
must  attend  to  it  yourself. 

Some  persons  have  Uved  manly  or  womanly  lives,  and 
they  lack  but  one  thing — open  confession  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Some  men  think  that  they  must  come  to 
him  in  a  certain  way — that  they  must  be  stirred  by  emotion 
or  something  like  that. 


150  "THE  OLD-TIME  RELIGION" 

Some  people  have  a  deeper  conviction  of  sin  before 
they  are  converted  than  after  they  are  converted.  With 
some  it  is  the  other  way.  Some  know  when  they  are  con- 
verted and  others  don't. 

Some  people  are  emotional.  Some  are  demonstrative. 
Some  will  cry  easily.  Some  are  cold  and  can't  be  moved 
to  emotion.  A  man  jumped  up  in  a  meeting  and  asked 
whether  he  could  be  saved  when  he  hadn't  shed  a  tear  in 
forty  years.  Even  as  he  spoke  he  began  to  shed  tears. 
It's  all  a  matter  of  how  you're  constituted.  I  am  vehement, 
and  I  serve  God  with  the  same  vehemence  that  I  served  the 
devil  when  I  went  down  the  line. 

Some  of  you  say  that  in  order  to  accept  Jesus  you  must 
have  different  surroundings.  You  think  you  could  do  it 
better  in  some  other  place.  You  can  be  saved  where  you 
are  as  well  as  any  place  on  earth.  I  say, "  IVIy  watch  doesn't 
run.  It  needs  new  surroundings.  I'll  put  it  in  this  other 
pocket,  or  I'll  put  it  here,  or  here  on  these  flowers."  It 
doesn't  need  new  surroundings.  It  needs  a  new  mainspring; 
and  that's  what  the  sinner  needs.  You  need  a  new  heart, 
not  a  new  suit. 

What  can  I  do  to  keep  out  of  hell?  "Believe  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved." 

The  Phihppian  jailer  was  converted.  He  had  put  the 
disciples  into  the  stocks  when  they  came  to  the  prison, 
but  after  his  conversion  he  stooped  down  and  washed  the 
blood  from  their  stripes. 

Now,  leave  God  out  of  the  proposition  for  a  minute. 
Never  mind  about  the  new  birth — that's  his  business. 
Jesus  Christ  became  a  man,  bone  of  our  bone,  flesh  of  our 
flesh.  He  died  on  the  cross  for  us,  so  that  we  might  escape 
the  penalty  pronounced  on  us.  Now,  never  mind  about 
anything  but  our  part  in  salvation.  Here  it  is:  "Believe 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved." 

You  say,  "Mr.  Sunday,  the  Church  is  full  of  hypocrites." 
So's  hell.  I  say  to  you  if  you  don't  want  to  go  to  hell  and 
live  with  that  whole  bunch  forever,  come  into  the  Church, 


"THE  OLD-TIME  RELIGION"  151 

where  you  won't  have  to  associate  with  them  very  long. 
There  are  no  hypocrites  in  heaven. 

You  say,  "Mr.  Sunday,  I  can  be  a  Christian  and  go  to 
heaven  without  joining  a  church."  Yes,  and  you  can  go  to 
Europe  without  getting  on  board  a  steamer.  The  swimming's 
good — but  the  sharks  are  laying  for  fellows  who  take  that 
route.  I  don't  believe  you.  If  a  man  is  truly  saved  he  will 
hunt  for  a  church  right  away. 

You  say,  ''It's  so  mysterious.  I  don't  understand.'* 
You'll  be  surprised  to  find  out  how  little  you  know.  You 
plant  a  seed  in  the  ground — that's  your  part.  You  don't 
understand  how  it  grows.  How  God  makes  that  seed  grow 
is  mysterious  to  you. 

Some  people  think  that  they  can't  be  converted  unless 
they  go  down  on  their  knees  in  the  straw  at  a  camp-meeting, 
unless  they  pray  all  hours  of  the  night,  and  all  nights  of  the 
week,  while  some  old  brother  storms  heaven  in  prayer. 
Some  think  a  man  must  lose  sleep,  must  come  down  the 
aisle  with  a  haggard  look,  and  he  must  froth  at  the  mouth 
and  dance  and  shout.  Some  get  it  that  way,  and  they  don't 
think  that  the  work  I  do  is  genuine  unless  conversions  are 
made  in  the  same  way  that  they  have  got  religion. 

I  want  you  to  see  what  God  put  in  black  and  white; 
that  there  can  be  a  sound,  thorough  conversion  in  an 
instant;  that  man  can  be  converted  as  quietly  as  the  coming 
of  day  and  never  backslide.  I  do  not  find  fault  with  the 
way  other  people  get  rehgion.  What  I  want  and  preach 
is  the  fact  that  a  man  can  be  converted  without  any  fuss. 

If  a  man  wants  to  shout  and  clap  his  hands  in  joy  over 
his  wife's  conversion,  or  if  a  wife  wants  to  cry  when  her 
husband  is  converted,  I  am  not  going  to  turn  the  hose  on 
them,  or  put  them  in  a  strait- jacket.  When  a  man  turns 
to  God  truly  in  conversion,  I  don't  care  what  form  his  con- 
version takes.  I  wasn't  converted  that  way,  but  I  do  not 
rush  around  and  say,  with  gall  and  bitterness,  that  you  are 
not  saved  because  you  did  not  get  religion  the  way  I  did. 
If  we  all  got  religion  in  the  same  way,  the  devil  might  go  to 


162  *'THE  OLD-TIME  RELIGION** 

sleep  vsith  a  regular  Kip  Van  Winkle  snooze  and  still  be  on 
the  job. 

Look  at  Nicodemus.  You  could  never  get  a  man  with 
the  temperament  of  Nicodemus  near  a  camp  meeting,  to 
kneel  down  in  the  straw,  or  to  shout  and  sing.  He  was  a 
quiet,  thoughtful,  honest,  sincere  and  cautious  man.  He 
wanted  to  know  the  truth  and  he  was  willing  to  walk  in 
the  light  when  he  found  it. 

Look  at  the  man  at  the  pool  of  Bethesda.  He  was  a 
big  sinner  and  was  in  a  lot  of  trouble  which  his  sins  had  made 
for  him.  He  had  been  in  that  condition  for  a  long  time.  It 
didn't  take  him  three  minutes  to  say  "Yes,"  when  the  Lord 
spoke  to  him.    See  how  quietly  he  was  converted. 

**And  He  Arose  and  Followed  Him" 

Matthew  stood  in  the  presence  of  Christ  and  he  realized 
what  it  would  be  to  be  without  Christ,  to  be  without  hope, 
and  it  brought  him  to  a  quick  decision.  "And  he  arose  and 
followed  him." 

How  long  did  that  conversion  take?  How  long  did  it 
take  him  to  accept  Christ  after  he  had  made  up  his  mind? 
And  you  tell  me  you  can't  make  an  instant  decision  to  please 
God?  The  decision  of  Matthew  proves  that  you  can. 
While  he  was  sitting  at  his  desk  he  was  not  a  disciple.  The 
instant  he  arose  he  was.  That  move  changed  his  attitude 
toward  God.  Then  he  ceased  to  do  evil  and  commenced  to 
do  good.  You  can  be  converted  just  as  quickly  as  Matthew 
was. 

God  says:  "Let  the  wicked  man  forsake  his  way." 
The  instant  that  is  done,  no  matter  if  the  man  has  been 
a  life-long  sinner,  he  is  safe.  There  is  no  need  of  struggling 
for  hours — or  for  days — do  it  now.  Who  are  you  struggling 
with?  Not  God.  God's  mind  was  made  up  long  before  the 
foundations  of  the  earth  were  laid.  The  plan  of  salvation 
was  made  long  before  there  was  any  sin  in  the  world.  Elec- 
tricity existed  long  before  there  was  any  car  wheel  for  it  to 
drive.     "Let  the  wicked  man  forsake  his  way."     When? 


-THE  OLD-TIME  RELIGION^'  1S8 

Within  a  month,  withm  a  week,  withm  a  day,  within  an 
hour?  No!  Now!  The  instant  you  yield,  God's  plan  of 
salvation  is  thrown  into  gear.  You  will  be  saved  before  you 
know  it,  like  a  child  being  bom. 

Rising  and  following  Christ  switched  Matthew  from 
the  broad  to  the  narrow  way.  He  must  have  counted  the 
cost  as  he  would  have  balanced  his  cash  book.  He  put  one 
side  against  the  other.  The  life  he  was  living  led  to  all 
chance  of  gain.  On  the  other  side  there  was  Jesus,  and 
Jesus  outweighs  all  else.  He  saw  the  balance  turn  as  the 
tide  of  a  battle  turns  and  then  it  ended  with  his  decision. 
The  sinner  died  and  the  disciple  was  born. 

I  beheve  that  the  reason  the  story  of  Matthew  was 
written  was  to  show  how  a  man  could  be  converted  quickly 
and  quietly.  It  didn't  take  him  five  or  ten  years  to  begin 
to  do  something — ^he  got  busy  right  away. 

You  don't  beheve  in  quick  conversions?  There  have 
been  a  dozen  men  of  modem  times  who  have  been  powers 
for  God  whose  conversion  was  as  quiet  as  Matthew's. 
Charles  G.  Finney  never  went  to  a  camp  meeting.  He  was 
out  in  the  woods  alone,  praying,  when  he  was  converted. 
Sam  Jones,  a  mighty  man  of  God,  was  converted  at  the 
bedside  of  his  dying  father.  Moody  accepted  Christ  while 
waiting  on  a  customer  in  a  boot  and  shoe  store.  Dr.  Chap- 
man was  converted  as  a  boy  in  a  Sunday  school.  All  the 
other  boys  in  the  class  had  accepted  Christ,  and  only  Wilbur 
remained.  The  teacher  turned  to  him  and  said,  "And  how 
about  you,  Wilbur?"  He  said,  ''I  will,"  and  he  turned 
to  Christ  and  has  been  one  of  his  most  powerful  evangeUsts 
for  many  years.  Gipsy  Smith  was  converted  in  his  father's 
tent.  Torrey  was  an  agnostic,  and  in  comparing  agnosticism, 
infidehty  and  Christianity,  he  found  the  scale  tipped  toward 
Christ.  Luther  was  converted  as  he  crawled  up  a  flight  of 
stairs  in  Rome. 

Seemingly  the  men  who  have  moved  the  world  for 
Christ  have  been  converted  in  a  quiet  manner.  The  way 
to  judge  a  tree  is  by  its  fruit.  Judge  a  tree  of  quiet  con- 
version in  this  way. 


154  "THE  OLD-TIME  RELIGION'^ 

Another  lesson.  When  conversion  compels  people  to 
forsake  their  previous  calling,  God  gives  them  a  better  job. 
Luke  said,  "He  left  all."  Little  did  he  dream  that  his 
influence  would  be  world-reaching  and  eternity-covering. 
His  position  as  tax-collector  seemed  like  a  big  job,  but  it  was 
picking  up  pins  compared  to  the  job  God  gave  him.  Some 
of  you  may  be  holding  back  for  fear  of  being  put  out  of  your 
job.  If  you  do  right  God  will  see  that  you  do  not  suffer. 
He  has  given  plenty  of  promises,  and  if  you  plant  your  feet 
on  them  you  can  defy  the  poor-house.  Trust  in  the  Lord 
means  that  God  will  feed  you.  Following  Christ  you  may 
discover  a  gold  mine  of  abihty  that  you  never  dreamed  of 
possessing.  There  was  a  saloon-keeper,  converted  in  a 
meeting  at  New  Castle,  who  won  hundreds  of  people  to 
Christ  by  his  testimony  and  his  preaching. 

You  do  not  need  to  be  in  the  church  before  the  voice 
comes  to  you;  you  don't  need  to  be  reading  the  Bible; 
you  don't  need  to  be  rich  or  poor  or  learned.  Wherever 
Christ  comes  follow.  You  may  be  converted  while  engaged 
in  your  daily  business.  Men  cannot  put  up  a  wall  and  keep 
Jesus  away.    The  still  small  voice  will  find  you. 

At  the  Cross-roads 

Right  where  the  two  roads  through  life  diverge  God 
has  put  Calvary.  There  he  put  up  a  cross,  the  stumbling 
block  over  which  the  love  of  God  said,  "I'll  touch  the  heart 
of  man  with  the  thought  of  father  and  son."  He  tiiought 
that  would  win  the  world  to  him,  but  for  nineteen  hundred 
years  men  have  climbed  the  Mount  of  Calvary  and  trampled 
into  the  earth  the  tenderest  teachings  of  God. 

You  are  on  the  devil's  side.  How  are  you  going  to 
cross  over? 

So  you  cross  the  line  and  God  won't  issue  any  extradi- 
tion papers.  Some  of  you  want  to  cross.  If  you  believe, 
then  say  so,  and  step  across.  I'll  bet  there  are  hundreds 
that  are  on  the  edge  of  the  line  and  many  are  standing 
straddling  it.     But  that  won't  save  you.     You  believe  in 


"THE  OLD-TIME  RELIGION"  155 

your  heart — confess  him  with  your  mouth.  With  his  heart 
man  believes  and  with  his  mouth  he  confesses.  Then  confess 
and  receive  salvation  full,  free,  perfect  and  external.  God 
will  not  grant  any  extradition  papers.  Get  over  the  old 
line.  A  man  isn't  a  soldier  because  he  wears  a  uniform, 
or  carries  a  gun,  or  carries  a  canteen.  He  is  a  soldier  when 
he  makes  a  definite  enlistment.  All  of  the  others  can  be 
bought  without  enlisting.  When  a  man  becomes  a  soldier 
he  goes  out  on  muster  day  and  takes  an  oath  to  defend  his 
country.  It's  the  oath  that  makes  him  a  soldier.  Going 
to  church  doesn't  make  you  a  Christian  any  more  than  going 
to  a  garage  makes  you  an  automobile,  but  public  definite 
enlistment  for  Christ  makes  you  a  Christian. 

"Oh,"  a  woman  said  to  me  out  in  Iowa,  "Mr.  Sunday, 
I  don't  think  I  have  to  confess  with  my  mouth."  I  said: 
"You're  putting  up  your  thought  against  God's." 

M-o-u-t-h  doesn't  spell  intellect.  It  spells  mouth  and 
you  must  confess  with  your  mouth.  The  mouth  is  the 
biggest  part  about  most  people,  anyhow. 

What  must  I  do? 

Philosophy  doesn't  answer  it.  Infidelity  doesn't 
answer  it.  First,  "believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved."  Beheve  on  the  Lord.  Lord — that's 
his  kingly  name.  That's  the  name  he  reigns  under.  "Thou 
shalt  call  his  name  Jesus."  It  takes  that  kind  of  a  confession. 
Give  me  a  Saviour  with  a  sympathetic  eye  to  watch  me  so  I 
shall  not  slander.  Give  me  a  Saviour  with  a  strong  arm 
to  catch  me  if  I  stumble.  .  Give  me  a  Saviour  that  will 
hear  my  shghtest  moan. 

Beheve  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  be  saved.  Christ 
is  his  resurrection  name.  He  is  sitting  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  Father  interceding  for  us. 

Because  of  his  divinity  he  understands  God's  side  of 
it  and  because  of  his  humanity  he  understands  our  side  of  it. 
Who  is  better  quahfied  to  be  the  mediator?  He's  a  mediator. 
What  is  that?  A  lawyer  is  a  mediator  between  the  jury  and 
the  defendant.     A  retail  merchant  is  a  mediator  between 


166  "THE  OLD-TIME  RELIGION" 

tile  wholesale  dealer  and  the  consumer.  Therefore,  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Mediator  between  God  and  man.  BeUeve  on 
the  Lord.  He's  ruling  today.  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus. 
He  died  to  save  us,  Beheve  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
He's  the  Mediator. 

Her  majesty,  Queen  Victoria,  was  traveling  in  Scotland 
when  a  storm  came  up  and  she  took  refuge  in  a  little  hut  of 
a  Highlander.  She  stayed  there  for  an  hour  and  when  she 
went  the  good  wife  said  to  her  husband,  "We'll  tie  a  ribbon 
on  that  chair  because  her  majesty  has  sat  on  it  and  no  one 
else  will  ever  sit  on  it."  A  friend  of  mine  was  there  later  and 
was  going  to  sit  in  the  chair  when  the  man  cried:  "Nae, 
nae,  mon.  Dinna  sit  there.  Her  majesty  spent  an  hour 
with  us  once  and  she  sat  on  that  chair  and  we  tied  a  ribbon 
on  it  and  no  one  else  will  ever  sit  on  it."  They  were  honored 
that  her  majesty  had  spent  the  hour  with  them.  It  brought 
unspeakable  joy  to  them. 

It's  great  that  Jesus  Christ  will  sit  on  the  throne  of  my 
heart,  not  for  an  hour,  but  here  to  sway  his  power  forever 
and  ever. 

"  He  Died  for  Me  " 

In  the  war  there  was  a  band  of  guerillas — Quantrell's 
band — that  had  been  ordered  to  be  shot  on  sight.  They  had 
burned  a  town  in  Iowa  and  they  had  been  caught.  One 
long  ditch  was  dug  and  they  were  lined  up  in  front  of  it 
and  blindfolded  and  tied,  and  just  as  the  firing  squad  was 
ready  to  present  arms  a  young  man  dashed  through  the 
bushes  and  cried,  "Stop!"  He  told  the  commander  of  the 
firing  squad  that  he  was  as  guilty  as  any  of  the  others,  but 
he  had  escaped  and  had  come  of  his  own  free  will,  and 
pointed  to  one  man  in  the  line  and  asked  to  take  his  place. 
"I'm  single,"  he  said,  "while  he  has  a  wife  and  babies." 
The  commander  of  that  fiiring  squad  was  an  usher  in  one  of 
the  cities  in  which  I  held  meetings,  and  he  told  me  how  the 
young  fellow  was  blindfolded  and  bound  and  the  guns  rang 
out  and  he  fell  dead. 


"THE  OLD-TIME  RELIGION^^  157 

Time  went  on  and  one  day  a  man  came  upon  another  in 
a  graveyard  in  Missouri  weeping  and  shaping  the  grave  into 
form.  The  first  man  asked  who  was  buried  there  and  the 
other  said,  ''The  best  friend  I  ever  had."  Then  he  told  how 
he  had  not  gone  far  away  but  had  come  back  and  got  the 
body  of  his  friend  after  he  had  been  shot  and  buried  it; 
so  he  knew  he  had  the  right  body.  And  he  had  brought  a 
withered  bouquet  all  the  way  from  his  home  to  put  on  the 
grave.  He  was  poor  then  and  could  not  afford  anything 
costly,  but  he  had  placed  a  slab  of  wood  on  the  phable 
earth  with  these  words  on  it:   "He  died  for  me." 

Major  Whittle  stood  by  the  grave  some  time  later  and 
saw  the  same  monument.  If  you  go  there  now  you  will  see 
something  different.  The  man  became  rich  and  today  there 
is  a  marble  monument  fifteen  feet  high  and  on  it  this 
inscription: 

BACKED  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF 

WILLIE  LEE 

HB  TOOK  MY  PLACE  IN  THE   UNS 
HE  DIED   FOR  MB 

Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  took  our 
place  on  the  cross  and  gave  his  life  that  we  might  live,  and 
go  to  heaven  and  reign  with  him. 

''BeUeve  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  confess  him  with  thy 
mouth,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved  and  thy  house." 

It  is  a  great  salvation  that  can  reach  down  into  the 
quagmire  of  filth,  pull  a  young  man  out  and  send  him  out 
to  hunt  his  mother  and  fill  her  days  with  sunshine.  It  is  a 
great  salvation,  for  it  saves  from  great  sin. 

The  way  to  salvation  is  not  Harvard,  Yale,  Princeton, 
Vassar  or  Wellesley.  Environment  and  culture  can't  put 
you  into  heaven  without  you  accept  Jesus  Christ. 

It's  great.  I  want  to  tell  you  that  the  way  to  heaven 
is  a  blood-stained  way.  No  man  has  ever  reached  it  without 
Jesus  Christ  and  he  never  will. 


CHAPTER  Xm 
"  Hitting  the  Sawdust  Trail  " 

Come  and  accept  my  Christ. — Billy  Sunday. 

PIONEERS  are  necessarily  unconventional.  America 
has  done  more  than  transform  a  wilderness  into  a 
nation:  in  the  process  she  has  created  new  forms  of 
life  and  of  speech.  Back  from  the  frontier  has  come  a  new, 
terse,  vigorous  and  pictorial  language.  Much  of  it  has 
found  its  way  into  the  dictionaries.  The  newer  "West  uses 
the  word  "trail" — ^first  employed  to  designate  the  traces 
left  by  traveling  Indians — to  designate  a  path.  The 
lumbermen  commonly  call  the  woods  roads  "trails." 

Imagine  a  lumberman  lost  in  the  big  woods.  He  has 
wandered,  bewildered,  for  days.  Death  stares  him  in  the 
face.  Then,  spent  and  affrighted,  he  comes  to  a  trail. 
And  the  trail  leads  to  life;  it  is  the  way  home. 

There  we  have  the  origin  of  the  expression  "Hitting 
the  sawdust  trail,"  used  in  Mr.  Sunday's  meetings  as  a 
term  similar  to  the  older  stereotyped  phrases:  "Going 
forward";  "Seeldng  the  altar."  The  more  conventional 
method,  used  by  the  other  evangeUsts,  is  to  ask  for  a  show 
of  hands. 

Out  in  the  Puget  Soimd  country,  where  the  sawdust 
aisles  and  the  rough  tabernacle  made  an  especial  appeal  to 
the  woodsmen,  the  phrase  "Hitting  the  sawdust  trail" 
came  into  use  in  Mr.  Sunday's  meetings.  The  figiu-e  was 
luminous.  For  was  not  this  the  trail  that  led  the  lost  to 
salvation,  the  way  home  to  the  Father's  house? 

The  metaphor  appealed  to  the  American  public,  which 
rehshes  all  that  savors  of  our  people's  most  primitive  life. 
Besides,  the  novel  designation  serves  well  the  taste  of  a 
nation  which  is  singularly  reticent  concerning  its  finer 
feeUngs,  and  delights  to  cloak  its  loftiest  sentiments  beneath 

(168) 


"HITTING  THE  SAWDUST  TRAIL''         159 

slang  phrases.  The  person  who  rails  at  "hitting  the  trail" 
as  an  irreverent  phrase  has  something  to  learn  about  the 
mind  of  Americans.  Tens  of  thousands  of  persons  have 
enshrined  the  homely  phrase  in  the  sanctuary  of  their  deep- 
est spiritual  experience. 

The  scene  itself,  when  Mr.  Sunday  calls  for  converts 
to  come  forward  and  take  his  hand,  in  token  of  their  pur- 
pose to  accept  and  follow  Christ,  is  simply  beyond  words. 
Human  speech  cannot  do  justice  to  the  picture.  For 
good  reason.  This  is  one  of  those  crises  in  human  life  the 
portrayal  of  which  makes  the  highest  form  of  Hterature. 
A  Victor  Hugo  could  find  a  dozen  novels  in  each  night's 
experience  in  the  Sunday  Tabernacle. 

This  is  an  hour  of  bared  souls.  The  great  transaction 
between  man  and  his  Maker  is  under  way.  The  streams  of 
life  are  here  changing  their  course.  Character  and  destiny 
are  being  altered.  The  old  Roman  "  Sacramentum,"  when 
the  soldiers  gave  allegiance  with  uplifted  hand,  crying, 
"This  for  me!  This  for  me!"  could  not  have  been 
more  impressive  than  one  of  these  great  outpourings  of 
human  life  up  the  sawdust  aisle  to  the  pulpit,  to  grasp  the 
preacher's  hand,  in  declaration  that  henceforth  their 
all  would  be  dedicated  to  the  Christ  of  Calvary. 

The  gi-eatness  of  the  scene  is  at  first  incomprehensible. 
There  are  no  parallels  for  it  in  all  the  history  of  Protes- 
tantism. This  unschooled  American  commoner,  who  could 
not  pass  the  entrance  examinations  of  any  theological 
seminary  in  the  land,  has  publicly  grasped  the  hands  of 
approximately  a  quarter  of  a  million  persons,  who  by  that 
token  have  said,  in  the  presence  of  the  great  congregation, 
that  they  thereby  vowed  allegiance  to  their  Saviour  and 
Lord.  Moody,  Whitefield,  Finney,  have  left  no  such 
record  of  converts  as  this. 

A  dramatic  imagination  is  needed  to  perceive  even  a 
fragment  of  what  is  meant  by  this  army  of  Christian 
recruits.  The  magnitude  of  the  host  is  scarcely  revealed 
by  the  statement  that  these  converts  more  than  equal  the 


160         "HITTING  THE  SAWDUST  TRAIL" 

number  of  inhabitants  of  the  states  of  Delaware  or  Arizona 
at  the  last  census,  and  far  surpass  those  of  Nevada  and 
Wyoming.  Imagine  a  state  made  up  wholly  of  zealous 
disciples  of  Christ!  Of  the  one  hundred  largest  cities  in 
the  United  States  there  are  only  nineteen  with  more  in- 
habitants than  the  total  number  of  persons  who  have 
"hit  the  trail"  at  the  Sunday  meetings. 

Break  up  that  vast  host  into  its  component  parts. 
Each  is  an  individual  whose  experience  is  as  real  and  dis- 
tinctive as  if  there  never  had  been  another  human  soul 
to  come  face  to  face  with  God.  To  one  the  act  means 
a  clean  break  with  a  life  of  open  sin.  To  another  it  impUes 
a  restored  home  and  a  return  to  respectability.  To  this 
young  person  it  signifies  entrance  upon  a  life  of  Christian 
service;  to  that  one  a  separation  from  all  old  associations. 
Some  must  give  up  unworthy  callings.  Other  must  heal 
old  feuds  and  make  restitution  for  ancient  wrongs.  One 
young  woman  in  accepting  Christ  knows  that  she  must 
reject  the  man  she  had  meant  to  marry.  To  many  men 
it  implies  a  severance  of  old  political  relations.  Far  and 
wide  and  deep  this  sawdust  trail  runs;  and  the  record  is 
written  in  the  sweat  of  agonizing  souls  and  in  the  red  of 
human  blood. 

The  consequences  of  conversion  stagger  the  imagina- 
tion: this  process  is  still  the  greatest  social  force  of  the 
age.' 

Little  wonder  that  persons  of  discernment  journey 
long  distances  to  attend  a  Sunday  meeting,  and  to  witness 
this  appeal  for  converts  to  "hit  the  trail."  I  traveled 
several  hundred  miles  to  see  it  for  the  first  time,  and 
would  go  across  the  continent  to  see  it  again.  For  this 
is  vital  rehgion.  If  a  wedding  casts  its  dramatic  spell  upon 
the  imagination;  if  a  poHtical  election  stirs  the  sluggish 
deeps  of  the  popular  mind;  if  a  battle  calls  for  newspaper 
"extras";  if  an  execution  arrests  popular  attention  by  its 
element  of  the  mystery  of  life  becoming  death — then,  by 
80  much  and  more,  this  critical,  decisive  moment  in  the 


"HITTING  THE  SAWDUST  TRAIL"  161 

lives  of  living  men  and  women  grips  the  mind  by  its  intense 
human  interest.  What  issues,  for  time  and  eternity,  are 
being  determined  by  this  step!  The  great  romance  is 
enacted  daily  at  the  Sunday  meetings. 

For  these  converts  are  intent  upon  the  most  sacred 
experience  that  ever  comes  to  mortal.  Through  what  soul 
struggles  they  have  passed,  what  renunciations  they  have 
made,  what  futures  they  front,  only  God  and  heaven's 
hosts  know.  The  crowd  dimly  senses  all  this.  There  is 
an  instinctive  appreciation  of  the  dramatic  in  the  multi- 
tude. So  the  evangelist's  appeal  is  followed  by  an  added 
tenseness,  a  straining  of  necks  and  a  general  rising  to 
behold  the  expected  procession. 

A  more  simple  and  imecclesiastical  setting  for  this 
tremendous  scene  could  scarcely  be  devised.  The  plain 
board  platform,  about  six  feet  high,  and  fifteen  feet  long, 
is  covered  by  a  carpet.  Its  only  furniture  is  a  second-hand 
walnut  pulpit,  directly  under  the  huge  sounding  board; 
and  one  plain  wooden  chair,  "a  kitchen  chair,"  a  housewife 
vs^ould  call  it.  Then  the  invitation  is  given  for  all  who 
want  to  come  out  on  the  side  of  Christ  to  come  forward 
and  grasp  Sunday's  hand. 

See  them  come!  From  all  parts  of  the  vast  building 
they  press  forward.  Nearly  everyone  is  taking  this  step 
before  the  eyes  of  friends,  neighbors,  work-fellows.  It 
calls  for  courage,  for  this  is  a  life  enlistment.  Behold  the 
young  men  crowding  toward  the  platform,  where  the  help- 
ers form  them  into  a  swiftly  moving  line — dozens  and 
scores  of  boys  and  men  in  the  first  flush  of  manhood. 
Occasionally  an  old  person  is  in  the  line;  oftener  it  is  a 
boy  or  girl.     There  goes  a  mother  with  her  son. 

How  differently  the  converts  act.  Some  have  stream- 
ing eyes.  Others  wear  faces  radiant  with  the  light  of  a 
new  hope.  Still  others  have  the  tense,  set  features  of 
gladiators  entering  the  arena.  For  minute  after  minute 
the  procession  continues.  When  a  well-known  person  goes 
forward,  the  crowd  cheers. 


162        "HITTING  THE  SAWDUST  TRAIL" 

As  I  have  studied  Mr.  Sunday  in  the  act  of  taking 
the  hands  of  converts — one  memorable  night  more  than 
five  hundred  at  the  rate  of  fifty-seven  a  minute — the  sj-^m- 
bolism  of  his  hand  has  appealed  to  my  imagination. 

Surprisingly  small  and  straight  and  surprisingly  strong 
it  is.  Base-ball  battles  have  left  no  scars  upon  it.  The 
lines  are  strong  and  deep  and  clear.  The  hand  is  "in 
condition";  no  flabbiness  about  it.  There  are  no  rings 
on  either  of  Mr.  Sunday's  hands,  except  a  plain  gold  wed- 
ding ring  on  the  left  third  finger. 

No  outstretched  hand  of  mihtary  commander  ever 
pointed  such  a  host  to  so  great  a  battle.  Is  there  any- 
where a  royal  hand,  wielding  a  scepter  over  a  nation,  which 
has  symboUzed  so  much  vital  influence  as  this  short,  firm 
hand  of  a  typical  American  commoner?  The  soldier  sent 
on  a  desperate  mission  asked  Wellington  for  "one  grasp 
of  your  conquering  hand."  A  conquering  hand,  a  help- 
ing hand,  an  uplifting  hand,  an  upward-pointing  hand,  is 
this  which  once  won  fame  by  handling  a  base  ball. 

Conceive  of  the  vast  variety  of  hands  that  have  been 
reached  up  to  grasp  this  one,  and  what  those  hands  have 
since  done  for  the  world's  betterment!  Two  hundred 
thousand  dedicated  right  hands,  still  a-tingle  with  the 
touch  of  this  inviting  hand  of  the  preacher  of  the  gospel! 
The  picture  of  Sunday's  right  hand  belongs  in  the  archives 
of  contemporary  rehgious  history. 

No  stage  manager  could  ever  set  so  great  a  scene  as 
this.  The  vastness  of  it — sixteen  or  seventeen  thousand 
eyes  all  centered  on  one  ordinary-looking  American  on  a 
high  green-carpeted  platform,  a  veritable  "sea  of  faces" — 
is  not  more  impressive  than  the  details  which  an  observer 
picks  out. 

The  multitudes  are  of  the  sort  who  thronged  the  Gali- 
lean; plain  people,  home-keeping  women,  seldom  seen  in 
public  places;  mechanics,  clerks,  the  great  American  com- 
monalty. Again  and  again  one  is  impressed  from  some 
fresh  angle  with  the  democracy  of  it  all;   this  man  some- 


"HITTING  THE  SAWDUST  TRAIL"         163 

how  appeals  to  that  popular  sense  wherein  all  special  tastes 
and  interests  merge. 

The  debacle  is  a  sight  beyond  words.  The  ice  of  con- 
ventionaUty  breaks  up,  and  the  tide  of  human  feeling  floods 
forth.  From  every  part  of  the  great  tabernacle — ^from  the 
front  seats,  where  you  have  been  studying  the  personahties, 
and  from  the  distant  rear,  where  all  the  faces  merge  into 
an  impersonal  mass — ^persons  begin  to  stream  forward. 
See  how  they  come.  The  moment  is  electric.  Every- 
body is  on  the  qui  vive. 

The  first  to  take  the  evangelist's  hand  is  a  young 
colored  boy.  The  girl  who  follows  may  be  a  stenographer. 
Young  men  are  a  large  part  of  the  recruits;  here  come  a 
dozen  fine-looking  members  of  an  athletic  club  in  a  body, 
while  the  crowd  cheers;  evidently  somebody  has  been  doing 
personal  work  there. 

Contrasts  are  too  common  to  mention.  There  is  a 
dehcate  lady's  kid-gloved  hand  reached  up  to  that  of  the 
evangeUst;  the  next  is  the  grimy,  calloused  hand  of  a  blue- 
shirted  miner.  The  average  is  of  young  men  and  women, 
the  choice  and  the  mighty  members  of  a  community.  Is 
the  world  to  find  a  new  moral  or  religious  leader  in  the 
person  of  some  one  of  these  bright-faced  youth  who  tonight 
have  made  this  sign  of  dedication? 

And  here  comes  an  old  man,  with  a  strong  face;  evi- 
dently a  personaUty  of  force.  Twice  the  evangelist  pats 
the  head  bowed  before  him,  in  pleasure  over  this  aged 
recruit.  He  seems  reluctant  to  let  the  old  man  go;  but, 
see  the  children  crowd  behind  him,  and  no  convert  can 
have  more  than  a  handclasp  and  a  word. 

All  around  the  platform  the  crowed  resembles  a  hive 
of  bees  just  before  swarming.  Stir,  motion,  animation 
seem  to  create  a  scene  of  confusion.  But  there  is  order 
and  purpose  in  it  all.  The  occupants  of  the  front  seats 
are  being  moved  out  to  make  way  for  the  converts,  who 
are  there  to  be  talked  with,  and  to  sign  the  cards  that  are 
to  be  turned  over  to  the  local  pastors. 


164         "HITTING  THE  SAWDUST  TRAIL" 

Personal  workers  are  getting  into  action.  See  the 
ministers  streaming  down  into  the  fray!  There  goes  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  secretary,  and  the 
Salvation  Army  soldiers,  and  the  members  of  the  choir, 
wearing  Christian  Endeavor  and  Bible  class  badges.  This 
is  religion  in  action.  Can  these  church  members  ever 
again  lapse  into  dead  conventionality? 

Meanwhile,  Rodeheaver,  the  chorister,  leans  upon  the 
piano  and  softly  leads  the  great  choir  in  "Almost  Per- 
suaded." The  musical  invitation  continues  while  the  work 
goes  on  in  front.  It  is  undisturbed  by  an  occasional  appeal 
from  the  evangelist.  The  song  quickly  changes  to  "Oh, 
Where  Is  My  Wandering  Boy  Tonight?"  and  then,  as 
the  volume  of  penitents  increases,  into  "I  Am  Coming 
Home"  and  "Ring  the  Bells  of  Heaven,  There  is  Joy 
Today!"  All  this  is  psychological;  it  fosters  the  mood 
which  the  sermon  has  created.  Music  mellows  as  many 
hearts  as  spoken  words. 

All  the  while  Sunday  is  shaking  hands.  At  first  he 
leans  far  over,  for  the  platform  is  more  than  six  feet  high. 
Sometimes  it  seems  as  if  he  will  lose  his  balance.  To 
reach  down  he  stands  on  his  left  foot,  with  his  right  leg 
extended  straight  behind  him,  the  foot  higher  than  his 
head.  No  one  posture  is  retained  long.  Often  he  dips 
down  with  a  swinging  circular  motion,  like  a  pitcher  about 
to  throw  a  ball.  Never  was  man  more  lavish  of  his  vital 
energy  than  this  one.  His  face  is  white  and  tense  and 
drawn;  work  such  as  this  makes  terrific  draughts  on  a 
man's  nerve  force. 

As  the  converts  increase,  he  lifts  a  trapdoor  in  the 
platform,  which  permits  him  to  stand  three  feet  nearer 
the  people.  Still  they  come,  often  each  led  by  some  per- 
sonal worker.  I  saw  a  Scandinavian  led  forward  in  one 
meeting;  ten  minutes  later  I  saw  him  bringing  his  wife 
up  the  trail.  Some  of  the  faces  are  radiant  with  a  new 
joy.  Others  are  set  at  a  nervous  tension.  Some  jaws  are 
grim  and  working,  revea^icg  the  inner  conflict  which  has 
resulted  in  this  step. 


"HITTING  THE  SAWDUST  TRAIL" 


165 


A  collarless,  ragged,  wealc-faced  slave  of  dissipation  is 
next  in  line  to  a  beautiful  girl  in  the  dew  of  her  youth. 
An  old,  white-wooled  negro,  leaning  on  a  staff,  is  led  for- 
ward. Then  a  little  child.  Here  are  veritably  all  sorts 
and  conditions  of  people. 

In  the  particular  session  I  am  describing,  a  big  dele- 
gation of  railroad 
men  is  present,  and 
the  evangelist  keeps 
turning  to  them, 
with  an  occasional 
"Come  on,  Erie!" 
The  memories  of  his 
own  days  as  a  rail- 
road brakeman  are 
evidently  working 
within  him,  and  he 
seizes  a  green  lan- 
tern and  waves  it. 
*'A  clear  track 
ahead!"  Toward 
these  men  he  is  most 
urgent,  beckoning 
them  also  with  a 
white  railroad  flag 
which  he  has  taken 
from  the  decora- 
tions. 

master    mechanic 
"hits     the     trail" 

there  is  cheering  from  the  crowd,  and  Sunday  himself 
shows  a  delight  that  was  exhibited  over  none  of  the 
society  folk  who  came  forward. 

Rare  and  remarkable  as  are  these  scenes  in  religious 
history,  they  occur  nightly  in  the  Sunday  tabernacle.  Two 
hundred,  three  hundred,  five  hundred,  one  thousand  con- 
verts are  conomon. 


When     the    -^  ColxiArless,  Weak-faced  Siave  of  Dissipa- 
tion IS  NEXT  IN  Line  to  a  Beautiful  Girl 
IN  THE  Dew  op  Her  Youth 


166         "HITTING  THE  SAWDUST  TRAIL" 

Anybody  interested  in  life  and  in  the  phenomena  of 
reUgion  will  find  this  occasion  the  most  interesting  scene 
at  present  to  be  witnessed  ia  the  whole  world.  As  for  the 
novelist,  this  is  the  human  soul  bared,  and  beyond  the 
compass  of  his  highest  art. 

For  life  is  at  Its  apex  when,  in  new  resolution,  a  mortal 
spirit  makes  compact  with  the  Almighty. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
The  Service  of  Society 

A  lot  of  people  think  a  man  needs  a  new  grandfather,  sanitation,  and  a 
new  shirt,  when  what  he  needs  is  a  new  heart. — Billy  Sxinday. 

SOME  day  a  learned  university  professor,  with  a  string 
of  titles  after  his  name,  will  startle  the  world  by  breaking 
away  from  the  present  conventionahsm  in  sociology, 
and  will  conduct  elaborate  laboratory  experiments  in  human 
betterment  on  the  field  of  a  Billy  Sunday  campaign.  His 
conclusion  will  surely  be  that  the  most  potent  force  for  the 
service  of  society — the  shortest,  surest  way  of  bettering  the 
himian  race — is  by  the  fresh,  clear,  sincere  and  insistent 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Of  course,  the  New  Testament  has  been  teaching  that 
for  nearly  twenty  centuries,  but  the  world  has  not  yet 
comprehended  the  practicabiHty  of  the  program.  Your 
learned  professor  may  prove,  by  literally  thousands  of 
incidents,  that  honesty,  chastity,  brotherliness,  and  ideahsm 
have  been  more  definitely  promoted  by  revivals  of  religion 
than  by  legislative  or  educational  programs.  All  that 
the  social  reformers  of  our  day  desire  may  be  most  quickly 
secured  by  straight-out  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  The  short- 
cut to  a  better  social  order  is  by  way  of  converted  men  and 
women.  And  when  a  modem  scholar  comes  to  demonstrate 
this  he  will  draw  largely  upon  the  aftermath  of  the  Sunday 
campaigns  for  his  contemporaneous  evidence. 

If  there  is  one  phrase  which,  better  than  another,  can 
describe  a  Billy  Sunday  campaign  it  is  ''restitution  and 
righteousness."  In  season  and  out,  the  evangehst  insists 
upon  a  changed  life  as  the  first  consequence  of  conversion. 
His  message  runs  on  this  wise: 

''You  ought  to  live  so  that  every  one  who  comes  near 
you  will  know  that  you  are  a  Christian.     Do  you?    Does 

(167) 


168 


THE  SERVICE  OF  SOCIETY 


your  milkman  know  that  you  are  a  Christian?  Does  the 
man  who  brings  your  laundry  know  that  you  belong  to 
church?  Does  the  man  who  hauls  away  your  ashes  know 
that  you  are  a  Christian?  Does  your  newsboy  know  that 
you  have  reUgion?  Does  the  butcher  know  that  you  are 
on  your  way  to  heaven?  Some  of  you  buy  meat  on  Saturday 
night,  and  have  him  deliver  it  Sunday  morning,  just  to  save 

a  Uttle  ice,  and 
then  you  wonder 
why  he  doesn't  go 
to  church. 

"If  you  had 
to  get  into  heaven 
on  the  testimony 
of  your  washer- 
woman, could  you 
make  it?  If  your 
getting  into 
heaven  depended 
on  what  your 
dressmaker  knows 
about  your  rehg- 
ion,  would  you 
land?  If  your 
husband  had  to 
gain  admittance 
to  heaven  on  the 
testimony  of  his 
stenographer,  could  he  do  it?  If  his  salvation  depended 
on  what  his  clerks  tell  about  him,  would  he  get  there?  A 
man  ought  to  be  as  rehgious  in  business  as  he  is  in  church. 
He  ought  to  be  as  rehgious  in  buying  and  selling  as  he  is 
in  praying. 

"There  are  so  many  church  members  who  are  not  even 
known  in  their  own  neighborhood  as  Christians.  Out  in 
Iowa  where  a  meeting  was  held,  a  man  made  up  his  mind 
that  he  would  try  to  get  an  old  sinner  into  the  Kingdom, 


"Does  Your  Newsbot  Know  that  You 
Have  Reugion?  " 


THE  SERVICE  OF  SOCIETY  169 

and  after  chasing  him  around  for  three  days  he  finally 
cornered  him.  Then  he  talked  to  that  old  fellow  for  two 
hours,  and  then  the  old  scoundrel  stroked  his  whiskers,  and 
what  do  you  think  he  said?  'Why,  I've  been  a  member  of 
the  church  down  there  for  fourteen  years.'  Just  think  of 
it!  A  member  of  the  church  fom1,een  years,  and  a  man  had 
to  chase  him  three  days,  and  talk  with  him  two  hours  to 
find  it  out. 

"You  have  let  Jesus  in?  Yes,  but  you  have  put  him  in 
the  spare-room.  You  don't  want  him  in  the  rooms  where  you 
live.  Take  him  down  into  the  living-room.  Take  him  into 
the  dining-room.  Take  him  into  the  parlor.  Take  him 
into  the  kitchen.  Live  with  him.  Make  him  one  of  the 
famUy." 

Then  follows  a  Sundayesque  description  of  how  Jesus 
would  find  beer  in  the  refrigerator  and  throw  it  out;  how 
he  would  find  cards  on  the  table  and  throw  them  out;  how 
he  would  find  nasty  music  on  the  piano  and  throw  it  out; 
how  he  would  find  cigarettes  and  throw  them  out. 

"If  you  haven't  Jesus  in  the  rooms  you  Uve  in,  it's 
because  you  don't  want  him,"  he  says.  "You're  afraid  of 
one  of  two  things:  you're  afraid  because  of  the  things  he'll 
throw  out  if  he  comes  in,  or  you're  afraid  because  of  the 
things  he'll  bring  with  him  if  he  comes  in." 

Here  is  how  a  great  newspaper,  the  Philadelphia  North 
American,  characterizes  the  ethical  and  poHtical  effectiveness 
of  Mr.  Sunday: 

Billy  Sunday,  derided  by  many  as  a  sensational 
evangeUst,  has  created  a  poHtical  revolution  in  Allegheny 
County.  What  years  of  reform  work  could  not  do  he  has 
wrought  in  a  few  short  weeks.  Old  fine  "practical"  politi- 
cians, the  men  who  did  the  dirty  work  for  the  poHtical  gang, 
are  now  zealous  for  temperance,  righteousness  and  reHgion. 

Judges  on  the  bench,  grand  dames  of  society,  million- 
aire business  men,  in  common  with  the  great  host  of  undis- 
tinguished men  and  women  in  homes,  mills,  offices,  and  shops, 
have  been  fired  by  this  amazing  prophet  with  biuning  zeal 
for  practical  religion. 


170  THE  SERVICE  OF  SOCIETY 

An  unexpected,  iinpredicted  and  unprecedented  social 
force  has  been  unleashed  in  our  midst.  Not  to  reckon  with 
this  is  to  be  blind  to  the  phase  of  Sunday's  work  which  bulks 
larger  than  his  picturesque  vocabulary  or  his  acrobatic 
earnestness. 

In  the  presence  of  this  man's  work  all  attempts  to 
classify  religious  activities  as  either  "evangeUstic"  or 
"social  service"  fall  into  confusion. 

Simday  could  claim  for  himself  that  he's  an  evangelist, 
and  an  evangelist  only.  He  repudiates  a  Christian  program 
that  is  merely  palliative  or  ameliorative.  To  his  thinking 
the  Church  has  more  fundamental  business  than  running 
soup  kitchens  or  gymnasiums  or  oyster  suppers.  All  his 
peerless  powers  of  ridicule  are  frequently  turned  upon  the 
frail  and  lonely  oyster  in  the  tureen  of  a  money-making 
chm-ch  supper. 

Nevertheless,  the  results  of  Sunday's  preaching  are 
primarily  social  and  ethical.  He  is  a  veritable  besom  of 
righteousness  sweeping  through  a  community.  The  wife 
who  neglects  her  cooking,  mending  and  home-making; 
the  employer  who  does  not  deal  squarely  with  his  workers; 
the  rich  man  who  rents  his  property  for  low  purposes  or  is 
tied  up  in  crooked  business  in  any  wise;  the  workman  who 
is  not  on  "his  job";  the  gossip  and  the  slanderer;  the  idle 
creatures  of  fashion;  the  Christian  who  is  not  a  good  person 
to  live  with,  the  selfish,  the  sour,  the  unbrotherly — all  these 
find  themselves  under  the  devastating  harrow  of  this  flaming 
preacher's  biting,  burning,  excoriating  condenmation.  "A 
scourge  for  morahty"  is  the  "way  one  minister  described 
him;  he  is  that,  and  far  more. 

After  the  whole  field  of  philanthropy  and  reform  have 
been  traversed  it  still  remains  true  that  the  fundamental 
reform  of  all  is  the  cleaning  up  of  the  lives  and  the  lifting  up 
of  the  ideals  of  the  people.  That  is  indisputably  what 
Sunday  does.  He  sweetens  Hfe  and  promotes  a  wholesome, 
friendly,  helpful  and  cheerful  state  of  mind  on  the  part  of 
those  whom  he  influences. 


THE  SERVICE  OF  SOCIETY  171 

Assuredly  it  is  basic  betterment  to  cause  men  to  quit 
their  drunkenness  and  lechery  and  profanity.  All  the  white- 
slave or  social-evil  commissions  that  have  ever  met  have 
done  less  to  put  a  passion  for  purity  into  the  minds  of  men 
and  women  than  this  one  man's  preaching  has  done.  The 
safest  commimities  in  the  country  for  young  men  and  young 
women  are  those  which  have  been  through  a  Billy  Sunday 
revival. 

One  cannot  cease  to  exult  at  the  fashion  in  which  the 
evangeHst  makes  the  Gospel  synonymous  with  clean  hving. 
All  the  considerations  that  weigh  to  lead  persons  to  go 
forward  to  grasp  the  evangelist's  hand,  also  operate  to  make 
them  partisans  of  purity  and  probity. 

Put  into  three  terse  phrases,  Sunday^s  whole  message  is: 
"  Quit  your  meanness.  Confess  Christ.  Get  busy  for  him 
among  men."  There  are  no  finely  spun  spiritual  sophistries 
in  Sunday's  preaching.  He  sometimes  speaks  quite  rudely 
of  that  conception  of  a  ''higher  spiritual  life"  which  draws 
Christians  apart  from  the  world  in  a  self-complacent  con- 
sciousness of  superiority. 

His  is  not  a  mystical,  meditative  faith.  It  is  dynamic, 
practical,  inomediate.  According  to  his  ever-recurring 
reasoning,  if  one  is  not  passing  on  the  fruits  of  rehgion  to 
somebody  else — ^if  one  is  not  hitting  hard  blows  at  the  devil 
or  really  doing  definite  tasks  for  God  and  the  other  man — 
then  one  has  not  the  real  brand  of  Christianity.  Sunday's 
preaching  has  hands,  with  "punch"  to  them,  as  weU  as 
lift;  and  feet,  with  "kick"  in  them,  as  well  as  ministry. 

Like  a  colhery  mined  on  many  levels,  Sunday's  preach- 
ing reaches  all  classes.  Everybody  can  appreciate  the  social 
service  value  of  converting  a  gutter  bum  and  making  him  a 
self-supporting  workman.  Is  it  any  less  social  service  to 
convert  a  man — I  cite  an  actual  instance  from  Pittsburgh — 
who  had  lately  lost  a  twelve-thousand-dollar-a-year  position 
through  dissipation,  and  so  thoroughly  to  help  him  find  him- 
self that  before  the  meetings  were  over  he  was  back  in  his 
old  office,  once  more  drawing  one  thousand  dollars  a  month? 


172  THE  SERVICE  OF  SOCIETY 

To  a  student  of  these  campaigns,  it  seems  as  if  business 
has  sensed,  better  than  the  preachers,  the  economic  waste  of 
of  sin. 

A  careful  and  discriminating  thinker,  the  Rev.  Joseph 
H.  Odell,  D.D.,  fonnerly  pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Scranton,  wrote  an  estimate  of  Billy  Sunday  and 
his  work  for  The  Outlook,  in  which  he  explains  why  his 
church,  which  had  been  opposed  to  the  coming  of  the 
evangehst,  reversed  its  vote: 

Testimony,  direct  and  cumulative,  reached  the  ears  of 
the  same  refined  and  reverent  men  and  women.  The  young 
business  men,  even  those  from  the  great  universities,  paused 
to  consider.  The  testimony  that  changed  the  attitudes  of 
the  Church  came  from  judges,  lawyers,  heads  of  corporations 
and  well-known  society  leaders  in  their  respective  communi- 
ties. The  testimony  was  phenomenally  concurrent  in  this: 
that,  while  it  did  not  endorse  the  revivahst's  methods,  or 
accept  his  theological  system,  or  condone  his  roughness  and 
rudeness,  it  proved  that  the  preaching  produced  results. 

*  *  Produced  results !"  Every  one  understood  the  phrase ; 
in  the  business  world  it  is  taUsmanic.  As  the  result  of  the 
Billy  Sunday  campaigns — anywhere  and  everywhere — drunk- 
ards became  sober,  thieves  became  honest,  multitudes 
of  people  engaged  themselves  in  the  study  of  the  Bible, 
thousands  confessed  their  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Saviour 
of  the  world,  and  all  the  quiescent  righteousness  of  the 
conmiunity  grew  brave  and  belUgerent  against  vice,  intem- 
perance, gambling,  and  poUtical  dishonesty. 

During  the  last  week  of  February  I  went  to  Pittsburgh 
for  the  purpose  of  eliciting  interest  in  the  candidacy  of  J.  Ben- 
jamin Dimmick  for  the  nomination  of  United  States  Senator. 
Billy  Sunday  had  closed  his  Pittsburgh  campaign  a  few  days 
earlier.  My  task  was  easy.  A  group  of  practical  poUticians 
met  Mr.  Dimmick  at  dinner.  They  were  the  men  who  had 
worked  the  wards  of  Allegheny  County  on  behalf  of  Penrose 
and  the  liquor  interests  for  years.  Together  they  were  worth 
many  thousands  of  votes  to  any  candidate;  in  fact,  they 
were  the  poUtical  balance  of  power  in  that  county.  They 
knew  ever3rthing  that  men  could  know  about  the  ballot,  and 


THE  SERVICE  OF  SOCIETY  173 

some  things  that  no  man  should  know.  SoKdly,  resolutely, 
and  passionately  they  repudiated  Penrose.  "No  one  can  get 
our  endorsement  in  Allegheny  County,  even  for  the  office  of 
dog-catcher,  who  is  not  anti-booze  and  anti-Penrose,"  they 
asserted.  When  asked  the  secret  of  their  crusader-like  zeal 
against  the  aUiance  of  liquor  and  pohtics,  they  frankly 
ascribed  it  to  Billy  Sunday;  they  had  be'^n  bom  again — ^no 
idle  phrase  with  them — ^in  the  vast  whale-back  tabernacle 
under  the  preaching  of  the  base-ball  evangeUst. 

Billy  Sunday  deals  with  the  very  springs  of  action; 
he  seeks  to  help  men  get  right  back  to  the  furthermost 
motives  of  the  mind.  "If  you're  born  again,  you  won't 
live  knowingly  in  sin.  This  does  not  mean  that  a  Christian 
cannot  sin,  but  that  he  does  not  want  to  sin."  This  truth 
the  evangelist  illustrates  by  the  difference  between  a  hog 
and  a  sheep.  The  sheep  may  fall  into  the  mud,  but  it  hates 
it  and  scrambles  out.  A  hog  loves  the  mud  and  wallows 
in  it. 

Nobody  can  measure  the  results  of  the  social  forces 
which  this  simple-thinking  evangelist  sets  to  work.  His 
own  figure  of  the  dwarf  who  could  switch  on  the  electric 
lights  in  a  room  as  easily  as  a  giant,  comes  to  mind.  He  has 
sent  into  Christian  work  men  who  can  do  a  kind  of  service 
impossible  to  Sunday  himself.  Thus,  one  of  Sunday's 
converts  out  in  "Wichita,  two  years  ago,  was  Henry  J. 
Allen,  editor  of  The  Beacon  and  Progressive  candidate  for 
governor.  Mr.  Allen  became  a  member  of  one  of  the 
celebrated  "Gospel  Teams,"  which,  since  the  Simday 
meetings,  have  been  touring  Kansas  and  neighboring  states 
and  have  won  more  than  eleven  thousand  converts.  It  was 
in  a  meeting  held  by  this  band  that  WilUam  Allen  White, 
the  famous  editor,  author  and  pubhsher,  took  a  definite 
stand  for  Christ  and  Christian  work.  One  of  the  most 
interesting  facts  about  Sunday's  work  is  this  one  that  the 
three  greatest  editors  in  the  State  of  Kansas  today  are  his 
direct  or  indirect  converts.  An  "endless  chain"  letter 
would  be  easier  to  overtake  than  the  effects  of  a  Sunday 
revival  campaign. 


174  THE  SERVICE  OF  SOCIETY 

In  the  face  of  the  mass  of  testimony  of  this  sort  is  it 
any  wonder  that  business  men  deem  a  Sunday  campaign 
worth  all  it  costs,  merely  as  an  ethical  movement?  The 
quickest  and  cheapest  way  to  improve  morals  and  the  morale 
of  a  city  is  by  a  revival  of  rehgion.  Thus  it  is  illuminating 
to  learn  that  there  were  650  fewer  inmates  in  the  Allegheny 
County  jail,  during  the  period  of  the  Simday  revival  meet- 
ings, than  during  the  same  time  in  the  preceding  year. 

From  Pittsburgh  also  comes  the  remarkable  story  that 
the  Cambria  Steel  Company,  one  of  the  largest  steel  concerns 
in  the  country,  has  estabhshed  a  religious  department  in 
connection  with  its  plant,  and  placed  a  regularly  ordained 
minister  in  charge  of  it.  This  as  an  avowed  result  of  the 
Sunday  campaign. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Maitland  Alexander,  D.D.,  pastor  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Pittsburgh,  is  sponsor  for 
this  news,  and  he  also  declares  that  nine  department  stores 
of  Pittsburgh  are  now  holding  prayer-meetings  every  morn- 
ing at  eight  o'clock.  These  two  statements  are  taken  from 
Dr.  Alexander's  address  to  a  body  of  ministers  in  New  York 
City.    He  is  reported  to  have  said  also : 

Billy  Sunday  succeeded  in  moving  the  city  of  Pitts- 
burgh from  one  end  to  the  other.  That,  to  my  mind, 
was  the  greatest  result  of  the  meetings.  It  is  easy  to  talk 
about  rehgion  now  in  Pittsburgh.  Men  especially  are  think- 
ing of  it  as  never  before,  and  the  great  majority  are  no  longer 
in  the  middle  of  the  road.  They  are  on  one  side  or  the  other. 
I  never  knew  a  man  who  could  speak  to  men  with  such 
telling  effect  as  Billy  Sunday.  I  covet  his  abihty  to  make  men 
listen  to  him. 

It  was  necessary  in  my  own  church,  which  wher»  packed, 
holds  3200  persons,  to  hold  special  meetings  for  different 
groups,  such  as  lawyers,  doctors,  bankers,  etc.,  and  they 
were  always  crowded.  In  the  big  tabernacle,  which  was  built 
for  the  campaign  and  holds  more  than  20,000  persons,  the 
men  from  the  big  steel  shops,  after  the  second  week,  came  in 
bodies  of  from  one  to  three  thousand,  in  many  cases  headed 
by  their  leading  officers. 


THE  SERVICE  OF  SOCIETY  175 

Dr.  Alexander  said  that  up  to  the  time  of  this  address 
the  Sunday  campaign  had  added  419  members  to  his  own 
church. 

One  of  the  striking  consequences  of  the  Sunday  cam- 
paign in  Scran  ton  was  the  development  of  the  ''Garage 
Bible  Class."  This  was  originally  a  Wilkes-Barre  poker 
club.  As  the  story  was  told  by  Mr.  Thos.  H.  Atherton,  a 
Wilkes-Barre  attorney,  to  the  same  New  York  meeting  that 
Dr.  Alexander  addressed,  the  Garage  Bible  Class  was 
originally  a  group  of  wealthy  men  meeting  at  different 
homes  every  week  for  a  poker  game.  One  man  bet  a  friend 
fifteen  dollars  that  he  wouldn't  go  to  hear  Billy  Sunday. 
One  by  one,  however,  the  men  found  themselves  unable 
to  resist  the  lure  of  the  Tabernacle.  As  a  result  the  poker 
club  was  abandoned,  and  in  a  garage  belonging  to  one  of 
the  men  they  organized  a  Bible  class  which  now  has  about 
a  hundred  members.  They  have  adopted  a  rule  that  no 
Christian  shall  be  added  to  their  ranks.  They  make  their 
own  Christians  out  of  the  unconverted. 

From  this  episode  one  gets  some  conception  of  the  tug 
and  pull  of  the  Sunday  Tabernacle.  The  temptation  to 
attend  becomes  well  nigh  irresistible.  All  the  streams  of 
the  community  life  flow  toward  the  great  edifice  where  the 
base-ball  evangeUst  enunciates  his  simple  message.  A 
writer  in  The  Churchman  said,  following  the  Pittsburgh 
campaign : 

This  evangeUst  made  rehgion  a  subject  of  ordinary 
conversation.  People  talked  about  their  souls  as  freely  as 
about  their  breakfast.  He  went  into  the  homes  of  the  rich, 
dropped  his  wildness  of  speech,  and  made  society  women  cry 
with  shame  and  contrition.  One's  eternal  welfare  became 
the  topic  of  the  dinner  table,  not  only  in  the  slums  but  in  the 
houses  of  fashion.  It  sounds  increchble,  and  it  is  not  a  fact 
to  be  grasped  by  the  mere  reading  of  it,  but  the  citizens  of 
Pittsburgh  forgot  to  be  ashamed  to  mention  prayer  and 
forgiveness  of  sin;  the  name  of  Christ  began  to  be  used  with 
simpleness  and  readiness  and  reverence  by  men  who,  two 


176  THE  SERVICE  OF  SOCIETY 

months  ago,  employed  it  only  as  a  by-word.  City  politi- 
cians came  forward  in  the  meeting  and  asked  for  prayer. 
The  daily  newspapers  gave  more  space  to  salvation  than  they 
did  to  scandal,  not  for  one  day,  but  for  day  after  day  and 
week  after  week.  As  a  mere  spectacle  of  a  whole  modem 
city  enthralled  by  the  Gospel  it  was  astonishing,  unbeliev- 
able, unprecedented,  prodigious. 

Because  he  preaches  both  to  employers  and  to  employed, 
Sunday  is  able  to  apply  the  healing  salt  of  the  gospel  at  the 
point  of  contact  between  the  two.  From  Columbus  it  is 
reported  that  a  number  of  business  men  voluntarily  increased 
the  wages  of  their  helpers,  especially  the  women,  because  of 
the  evangelist's  utterances. 

A  horse  jockey  out  West  reached  the  core  of  the  matter 
when  he  said  to  a  friend  of  mine  concerning  Billy  Sunday, 
"He  sets  people  to  thinking  about  other  people."  There 
you  have  the  genesis  and  genius  and  goal  of  social  service. 
No  other  force  that  operates  among  men  is  equal  to  the 
inspirations  and  inhibitions  of  the  Christian  religion  in  the 
minds  of  individuals.  The  greatest  service  that  can  be 
done  to  any  commimity  is  to  set  a  considerable  proportion 
of  its  people  to  endeavoring  honestly  to  live  out  the  ideals 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

It  is  simply  impossible  to  enumerate  anything  like  a 
representative  number  of  incidents  of  the  community  value 
of  Billy  Sunday's  work.  They  come  from  every  angle  and 
in  the  most  unexpected  ways.  A  banker,  who  is  not  a 
member  of  any  church,  showed  me  the  other  day  a  letter 
he  had  received  from  a  man  who  had  defrauded  him  out  of 
a  small  sum  of  money  years  before.  The  banker  had  never 
known  anything  about  the  matter  and  did  not  recall  the 
man's  name.  What  did  amaze  him,  and  set  him  to  showing 
the  letter  to  all  of  his  friends,  was  this  man's  restitution, 
accompanied  by  an  out-spoken  testimony  to  his  new  dis- 
cipleship  to  Jesus  Christ,  upon  which  he  had  entered  at  the 
inspiration  of  Billy  Sunday. 

The  imagination  is  stirred  by  a  contemplation  of  what 


THE  SERVICE  OF  SOCIETY  177 

these  individual  cases  of  regeneration  imply.  Consider  the 
homes  reunited;  consider  the  happy  firesides  that  once  were 
the  scene  of  misery;  measure,  if  you  can,  the  new  joy  that 
has  come  to  tens  of  thousands  of  lives  in  the  knowledge 
that  they  have  given  themselves  imreservedly  to  the  service 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  dramatic,  human  side  of  it  strikes  one  ever  and 
anon.  I  chanced  to  see  a  young  man  "hit  the  trail"  at 
Scranton  whose  outreachings  I  had  later  opportunity  to 
follow.  The  young  man  is  the  only  son  of  his  parents  and 
the  hope  of  two  converging  family  lines.  Grandparents 
and  parents,  uncles  and  aunts,  have  pinned  all  of  their 
expectations  on  this  one  young  man.  He  was  a  youth  of 
parts  and  of  force  and  a  personaUty  in  the  community. 
When,  on  the  night  of  which  I  write,  he  came  forward  up  the 
"sawndust  trail"  to  grasp  the  evangehst's  hand,  his  aged 
grandfather  and  his  mother  wept  tears  of  joy.  The  grand- 
father himself  also  "hit  the  trail"  at  the  Scranton  meetings 
and  has  since  spent  his  time  largely  in  Christian  work.  It 
is  impossible  to  say  how  this  young  man's  futm-e  might 
have  spelled  sorrow  or  joy  for  the  family  circle  that  had 
concentrated  their  hopes  on  him.  But  now  it  is  clear  that 
his  conversion  has  brought  to  them  all  a  boon  such  as  money 
could  not  have  bought  nor  kings  conferred 

One  of  the  countless  instances  that  may  be  gleaned  in 
any  field  of  Sunday's  sowing  was  related  to  me  the  other 
evening  by  a  business  man,  who,  like  others,  became  a 
protagonist  of  Sunday  by  going  through  one  of  his  cam- 
paigns. In  his  city  there  was  a  cultivated,  middle-aged 
German,  a  well-known  citizen,  who  was  an  avowed  atheist. 
He  openly  scoffed  at  reUgion.  He  was  unable,  however, 
to  resist  the  allurement  of  the  Sunday  meetings,  and  he 
went  with  his  wife  one  night  merely  to  "see  the  show." 
That  one  sermon  broke  down  the  philosophy  of  years,  and 
the  atheist  and  his  wife  became  converts  of  Billy  Sunday. 
His  three  sons  followed  suit,  so  that  the  family  of  five 
adults  were  led  into  the  Christian  life  by  this  evangelist 
m 


178  THE  SERVICE  OF  SOCIETY 

untaught  of  the  schools.  One  of  the  sons  is  now  a  member 
of  the  State  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Committee. 

A  western  business  man,  who  is  interested  in  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  told  me  that  one  cold, 
rainy  winter's  day  he  happened  into  the  Association  Build- 
ing in  Youngstown,  Ohio.  He  found  a  crowd  of  men 
streaming  into  a  meeting,  and  because  the  day  was  so 
impropitious,  he  asked  the  character  of  the  gathering.  He 
was  told  that  it  was  the  regular  meeting  of  the  Christian 
Workers'  Band,  gathered  to  report  on  the  week's  activities. 
The  men  had  been  converted  to  Christ,  or  to  Chi-istian 
work,  by  Billy  Sunday,  and  their  meeting  had  continued 
ever  since,  although  it  was  more  than  a  year  since  the 
evangelist's  presence  in  Youngstown.  Said  my  friend, 
"That  room  was  crowded.  One  after  another  the  men 
got  up  and  told  what  definite  Christian  work  they  had 
been  doing  in  the  previous  seven  days.  The  record  was 
wonderful.  They  had  been  holding  all  sorts  of  meetings 
in  all  sorts  of  places,  and  had  been  doing  a  variety  of 
personal  work  besides,  so  that  there  were  a  niunber  of 
converts  to  be  reported  at  this  meeting  I  attended."  To 
have  set  that  force  in  operation  so  that  it  would  continue 
to  work  with  undiminished  zeal  after  twelve  months  of 
routine  existence,  was  a  greater  achievement  than  to 
preach  one  of  the  Billy  Sunday  sermons. 

There  is  a  sufficient  body  of  evidence  to  show  that  the 
work  of  Billy  Sunday  does  not  end  when  the  evangelist 
leaves  the  community.  He  has  created  a  vogue  for  religion 
and  for  righteousness.  The  crowd  spirit  has  been  called 
forth  to  the  service  of  the  Master.  Young  people  and  old 
have  been  given  a  new  and  overmastering  interest  in  life. 
They  have  something  definite  to  do  for  the  world  and  a 
definite  crowd  with  which  to  ally  themselves. 

One  result  has  been  a  tremendous  growth  of  Bible 
classes  for  men  and  women  and  a  manifestation  of  the 
crusader  spirit  which  makes  itself  felt  in  cleaned-up  com- 
munities and  in  overthrown  corruption  in  politics.    So  far 


THE  SERVICE  OF  SOCIETY  i?9 

as  the  Billy  Sunday  campaigns  may  be  said  to  have  a  badge, 
it  is  the  little  red  and  white  bull's  eye  of  the  Organized 
Adult  Bible  Classes. 

Six  months  after  the  Scranton  campaign  five  thousand 
persons  attended  a  "Trail  Hitters'"  picnic,  where  the  day's 
events  were  scheduled  under  two  headings,  "athletic"  and 
"prayer."  When  wholesome  recreation  comes  thus  to  be 
permeated  with  the  spirit  of  clean  and  simple  devotion 
something  like  an  ideal  state  of  society  has  come  to  pass  for 
at  least  one  group  of  people. 

In  more  ways  than  the  one  meant  by  his  critics,  Sun- 
day's work  is  sensational.  What  could  be  more  striking 
than  the  visit  on  Sunday,  October  25,  1914,  of  approxi- 
mately a  thousand  trail-hitters  from  Scranton  to  the 
churches  of  Philadelpliia,  to  help  prepare  them  for  their 
approaching  Sunday  campaign?  Special  trains  were  nec- 
essary to  bring  this  great  detachment  of  men  the  distance 
of  three  hundred  miles.  They  went  forth  in  bands  of 
four,  being  distributed  among  the  churches  of  the  city,  to 
hold  morning  and  evening  services,  and  in  the  afternoon 
conducting  neighborhood  mass  meetings.  These  men  were 
by  no  means  all  trained  speakers,  but  they  were  witness- 
bearers;  and  their  testimony  could  scarcely  fail  to  produce 
a  powerful  influence  upon  the  whole  city.  That,  on  a 
large  scale,  is  what  Sunday  converts  are  doing  in  a  multi- 
tude of  places. 

To  close  this  chapter  as  it  began,  the  truth  stands  out 
that  Billy  Sunday  has  set  a  host  of  people  to  thinking  that 
this  world's  problems  are  to  be  solved,  and  its  betterment 
secured,  not  by  any  new-fangled  methods,  but  along  the  old 
and  tested  line  of  transforming  individual  characters  through 
the  redeeming  power  of  the  crucified  Son  of  God.  Salvation 
is  surest  social  service. 

The  great  evangelist's  sermons  are  filled  with  the  life 
stories  of  the  men  and  women  he  has  saved.  The  following 
is  only  one  of  many: 

"I  was  at  one  time  in  a  town  in  Nebraska  and  the 


180  THE  SERVICE  OF  SOCIETY 

people  kept  telling  me  about  one  man.  'There  is  one 
man  here,  if  you  can  get  him  he  is  good  for  one  hundred 
men  for  Christ.'    I  said:  'Who  is  he?' 

"'JohnChampenoy.  He  is  the  miller.*  I  said  to  Mr. 
Preston,  who  was  then  a  minister:  'Have  you  been  to  see 
him?'  'No.'  I  asked  another  minister  if  he  had  been  to 
see  the  fellow  and  he  said  no.  I  asked  the  United  Presby- 
terian preacher  (they  have  a  college  out  there),  and  he  said 
no,  he  hadn't  been  around  to  see  him. 

"I  said:  'Well,  I  guess  I'll  go  aroimd  to  see  him.'  I 
foimd  the  fellow  seated  in  a  chair  teetered  back  against 
the  wall,  smoking.  I  said:  'Is  this  Mr.  Champenoy?' 
*  Yes,  sir,  that's  my  name.'  He  got  up  and  took  me  by  the 
hand.  I  said:  'My  name  is  Sunday;  I'm  down  at  the 
church  preaching.  A  good  many  have  been  talking  to  me 
about  you  and  I  came  down  to  see  you  and  ask  you  to  give 
your  heart  to  God.'  He  looked  at  me,  walked  to  the  cup- 
board, opened  the  door,  took  out  a  half-pint  flask  of  whisky 
and  threw  it  out  on  a  pile  of  stones. 

"He  then  turned  around,  took  me  by  the  hand,  and  as 
the  tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks  he  said:  'I  have  Uved  in 
this  town  nineteen  years  and  you  are  the  first  man  that  has 
ever  asked  me  to  be  a  Christian.' 

"  He  said :  '  They  point  their  finger  at  me  and  call  me  an 
old  drunkard.  They  don't  want  my  wife  around  with  their 
wives  because  her  husband  is  a  drunkard.  Their  children 
won't  play  with  our  babies.  They  go  by  my  house  to  Sun- 
day school  and  church,  but  they  never  ask  us  to  go.  They 
pass  us  by.  I  never  go  near  the  chiu'ch.  I  am  a  member 
of  the  lodge.  I  am  a  Mason  and  I  went  to  the  church  eleven 
years  ago  when  a  member  of  the  lodge  died,  but  I've  never 
been  back  and  I  said  I  never  would  go.' 

"I  said :  '  You  don't  want  to  treat  the  Church  that  way. 
God  isn't  to  blame,  is  he?' 

"'No.' 

"'The  Church  isn't  to  blame,  is  it?* 

"'No.' 


THE  SERVICE  OF  SOCIETY  181 

"*  Christ  isn't  to  blame?' 

"'No.' 

"  'You  wouldn't  think  much  of  me  if  I  would  walk  up  and 
slap  your  wife  because  you  kept  a  dog  I  didn't  like,  would 
you?  Then  don't  slap  God  in  the  face  because  there  are 
some  hypocrites  in  the  Church  that  you  don't  like  and  who 
are  treating  you  badly.  God  is  all  right.  He  never  treated 
you  badly.     Come  up  and  hear  me  pre&ch,  will  you,  John?' 

'"Yes,  I'll  come  tonight.' 

"I  said :  '  All  right,  the  Lord  bless  you  and  I  will  pray  for 
you.'  He  came;  the  seats  were  all  filled  and  they  crowded 
him  down  the  side  aisle.  I  can  see  him  now  standing  there, 
with  his  hat  in  his  hand,  leaning  against  the  wall  looking  at 
me.  He  never  took  his  eyes  off  me.  When  I  got  through 
and  gave  the  invitation  he  never  waited  for  them  to  let  him 
out.  He  walked  over  the  backs  of  the  seats,  took  his  stand 
for  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  less  than  a  week  seventy-eight  men 
followed  him  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  They  elected  that 
man  chairman  of  the  civic  federation  and  he  cleaned  the 
town  up  for  Jesus  Christ  and  has  led  the  hosts  of  righteous- 
ness from  then  until  now.  Men  do  care  to  talk  about  Jesus 
Christ  and  about  their  souls.  'No  man  cares  for  my  soul.' 
That's  what's  the  trouble.  They  are  anxious  and  waiting 
for  some  one  to  come." 


CHAPTER  XV 
Giving  the  Devil  His  Due 

I  know  there  is  a  devil  for  two  reasons;  first,  the  Bible  declares  it;  and 
second  I  have  done  business  with  him. — ^Billt  Sxjndat. 

THE  Prince  of  Darkness  was  no  more  real  to  Martin 
Luther,  when  he  flung  his  ink-well  at  the  devil,  than 
he  is  to  Billy  Sunday.  He  seems  never  long  out  of 
the  evangehst's  thought.  Sunday  regards  him  as  his  most 
personal  and  individual  foe.  Scarcely  a  day  passes  that  he 
does  not  direct  his  attention  publicly  to  the  devil.  He 
addresses  him  and  defies  him,  and  he  cites  Satan  as  a  suffi- 
cisut  explanation  for  most  of  the  world's  affictions. 

There  are  many  delicate  shadings  and  degrees  and 
difftrentiations  in  theology — ^but  Billy  Sunday  does  not 
know  them.  He  never  speaks  in  semitones,  nor  thinks  in 
a  nebulous  way.  His  mind  and  his  word  are  at  one  with  his 
base-ball  skill — a  swift,  straight  passage  between  two  points. 
With  him  men  are  either  sheep  or  goats;  there  are  no 
hybrids.  Their  destination  is  heaven  or  heU,  and  their 
master  is  God  or  the  devil. 

He  believes  in  the  devil  firmly,  picturesquely;  and 
fights  him  without  fear.  His  characterizations  of  the  devil 
are  hair-raising.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  far  easier  for  the 
average  man,  close  down  to  the  ruck  and  red  reahties  of 
liTe,  to  beheve  in  the  devil,  whose  work  he  well  knows, 
than  it  is  for  the  cloistered  man  of  books.  The  mass  of  the 
people  think  in  the  same  sort  of  strong,  large,  elemental 
terms  as  Billy  Simday.  The  niceties  of  language  do  not 
bother  them;  they  are  the  makers  and  users  of  that  fluid 
speech  called  slang. 

William  A.  Sunday  is  an  elemental.  Sophistication 
would  spoil  him.  He  is  dead  sure  of  a  few  truths  of  first 
magnitude.     He  beheves  without  reservation  or  qualifica- 

(182) 


GIVING  THE  DEVIL  HIS  DtJE  183 

tion  in  the  Christ  who  saved  him  and  reversed  his  Ufe's 
direction.  Upon  this  theme  he  has  preached  to  millions. 
Also  he  is  sure  that  there  is  a  devil,  and  he  rather  delights 
in  telling  old  Satan  out  loud  what  he  thinks  of  him.  Mean- 
ness, in  Satan,  sinner  or  saint,  he  hates  and  says  so  in  the 
language  of  the  street,  which  the  common  people  under- 
stand. He  usually  perturbs  some  fastidious  folk  who  think 
that  hterary  culture  and  religion  are  essentially  interwoven. 

Excoriation  of  the  devil  is  not  Sunday's  masterpiece. 
He  reaches  his  height  in  exaltation  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  is 
surer  of  his  Lord  than  he  is  of  the  devil.  It  is  his  bed-rock 
belief  that  Jesus  can  save  anybody,  from  the  gutter  bum  to 
the  soul-calloused,  wealthy  man  of  the  world,  and  make 
them  both  new  creatm'es.  With  heart  tenderness  and  really 
yearning  love  he  holds  aloft  the  Crucified  as  the  world's 
only  hope.  That  is  why  his  gospel  breaks  hearts  of  stone 
and  makes  Bible-studying,  praying  church  workers  out  of 
strange  assortments  of  humanity. 

The  following  passages  will  show  how  familiarly  and 
frequently  Sunday  treats  of  the  devil: 

"DEVIL"  PASSAGES 

The  devil  isn't  anybody's  fool.  You  can  bank  on 
that.  Plenty  of  folks  will  tell  you  there  isn't  any  devil — 
that  he  is  just  a  figure  of  speech;  a  poetic  personification  of 
the  sin  in  our  natures.  People  who  say  that — and  especially 
all  the  time-serving,  hypocritical  ministers  who  say  it — are 
liars.  They  are  calling  the  Holy  Bible  a  He.  I'll  believe 
the  Bible  before  I'll  beHeve  a  lot  of  time-serving,  society- 
fied,  tea-drinking,  smirking  preachers.  No,  sir!  You  take 
God's  word  for  it,  there  is  a  devil,  and  a  big  one,  too. 

Oh,  but  the  devil  is  a  smooth  guy!  He  always  was, 
and  he  is  now.  He  is  right  on  his  job  all  the  time,  winter 
and  summer.  Just  as  he  appeared  to  Christ  in  the  wilder- 
ness, he  is  right  in  this  tabernacle  now,  trying  to  make 
you  sinners  indifferent  to  Christ's  sacrifice  for  your  salva- 
tion.    When  the  invitation  is  given,  and  you  start  to  get 


184  GIVING  THE  DEVIL  HIS  DUE 

up,  and  then  settle  back  into  your  seat,  and  say,  "I  guess 
I  don't  want  to  give  way  to  a  temporary  impulse,"  that's 
the  real,  genuine,  blazing-eyed,  cloven-hoofed,  forked-tailed 
old  devil,  hanging  to  your  coat  tail.  He  knows  all  your 
weaknesses,  and  how  to  appeal  to  them. 

He  knows  about  you  and  how  you  have  spent  sixty 
dollars  in  the  last  two  years  for  tobacco,  to  make  your 
home  and  the  streets  filthy,  and  that  you  haven't  bought 
your  wife  a  new  dress  in  two  years,  because  you  "can't 
afford  it";  and  he  knows  about  you,  and  the  time  and 
money  you  spend  on  fool  hats  and  card  parties,  doing  what 
you  call  "getting  into  society,"  while  your  husband  is 
being  driven  away  from  home  by  badly  cooked  meals, 
and  your  children  are  running  on  the  streets,  learning  to 
be  hoodlums. 

And  he  knows  about  you,  too,  sir,  and  what  you  get 
when  you  go  back  of  the  drug-store  prescription  counter 
to  "buy  medicine  for  your  sick  baby."  And  he  knows 
about  you  and  the  He  you  told  about  the  girl  across  the 
street,  because  she  is  sweeter  and  truer  than  you  are,  and 
the  boys  go  to  see  her  and  keep  away  from  you,  you  miser- 
able thrower  of  slime,  dug  out  of  your  own  heart  of  envy — 
yes,  indeed,  the  devil  knows  all  about  you. 

When  the  revival  comes  along  and  the  Church  of  God 
gets  busy,  you  will  always  find  the  devil  gets  busy,  too. 
Whenever  you  find  somebody  that  don't  beheve  in  the 
devil  you  can  bank  on  it  that  he  has  a  devil  in  him  bigger 
than  a  woodchuck.  When  the  Holy  Spirit  descended  at 
Pentecost  the  devil  didn't  do  a  thing  but  go  around  and 
say  that  these  fellows  were  drunk,  and  Peter  got  up  and 
made  him  mad  by  saying  that  it  was  too  early  in  the  day. 
It  was  but  the  ttdrd  hour.  They  had  sense  in  those  days; 
it  was  unreasonable  to  find  them  drunk  at  the  third  hour 
of  the  day.     But  now  the  fools  sit  up  all  night  to  booze. 

When  you  rush  forward  in  God's  work,  the  devil 
begins  to  rush  against  you.  There  was  a  rustic  farmer 
walking  through  Lincoln  Park  and  he  saw  the  sign,  "Be- 
ware of  pickpockets." 


GIVING  THE  DEVIL  HIS  DUE  186 

» 

'*What  do  they  want  to  put  up  a  fool  sign  like  that? 
Everybody  looks  honest  to  me."  He  reached  for  his  watch 
to  see  what  time  it  was  and  found  it  was  gone.  The  pick- 
pockets always  get  in  the  pockets  of  those  who  think  there 
are  no  pickpockets  around.  Whenever  you  believe  there 
is  a  devil  around,  you  can  keep  him  out,  but  if  you  say 
there  isn't,  he'll  get  you  sure. 

The  Bible  says  there  is  a  devil;  you  say  there  is  no 
devil.  Who  knows  the  most,  God  or  you?  Jesus  met  a 
real  foe,  a  personal  devil.  Reject  it  or  deny  it  as  you  may. 
If  there  is  no  devil,  why  do  you  cuss  instead  of  pray? 
Why  do  you  lie  instead  of  telling  the  truth?  Why  don't 
you  kiss  your  wife  instead  of  cursing  her?  !You  have  just 
got  the  devil  in  you,  that  is  all. 

The  devil  is  no  fool;  he  is  onto  his  job.  The  devil 
has  been  practicing  for  six  thousand  years  and  he  has  never 
had  appendicitis,  rheumatism  or  tonsilitis.  If  you  get  to 
playing  tag  with  the  devil  he'U  beat  you  every  clip. 

If  I  knew  that  all  the  devils  in  hell  and  all  the  devils 
in  Pittsburgh  were  sitting  out  in  the  pews  and  sneering 
and  jeering  at  me  I'd  shoot  God's  truth  into  their  carcasses 
anyway,  and  I  propose  to  keep  firing  away  at  the  devils 
until  by  and  by  they  come  crawling  out  of  their  holes  and 
swear  that  they  were  never  in  them,  but  their  old  hides 
would  assay  for  lead  and  tan  for  chair  bottoms. 

Men  in  general  think  very  little  of  the  devil  and  his 
devices,  yet  he  is  the  most  formidable  enemy  the  human 
race  has  to  contend  with.  There  is  only  one  attitude  to 
have  toward  him,  and  that  is  to  hit  him.  Don't  pick  up 
a  sentence  and  smooth  it  and  polish  it  and  sugar-coat  it, 
but  shy  it  at  him  with  all  the  rough  corners  on. 

The  devil  has  more  sense  than  lots  of  httle  preachers. 

Jesus  said:  "It  is  written."  He  didn't  get  up  and 
quote  Byron  and  Shakespeare.  You  get  up  and  quote 
that  stuff,  and  the  devil  wdll  give  you  the  ha!  ha  I  until 
you're  gray-haired.  Give  him  the  Word  of  God,  and  he 
will  take  the  count  mighty  quick.  "It  is  written,  thou 
shall  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God." 


186 


GIVING  THE  DEVIL  HIS  DUE 


DonH  you  ever  think  for  a  minute  that  the  devil 
isn't  on  the  job  all  the  time.  He  has  been  rehearsing  for 
thousands  of  years,  and  when  you  fool  around  in  his  back 
yard  he  will  pat  you  on  the  back  and  tell  you  that  you 
are  "IT." 

I'll  fight  the  devil  in  my  own  way  and  I  don't  want 
people  to  growl  that  I  am  not  doing  it  right. 

The  devil  comes  to  me  sometimes.     Don't  think  that 

because  I  am  a 
preacher  the  devil 
doesn't  bother  me 
any.  The  devil 
comes  around  reg- 
ularly, and  I  put 
on  the  gloves  and 
get  busy  right 
away. 

I  owe  God 
everything;  I  owe 
the  devil  nothing 
except  the  best 
fight  I  can  put  up 
against  him. 

I  assault  the 
devil's  stronghold 
and  I  expect  no 
quarter  and  I  give 
him  none. 

I  am  in  favor 
of  everything  the  devil  is  against,  and  I  am  against  every- 
thing the  devil  is  in  favor  of — the  dance,  the  booze,  the 
brewery,  my  friends  that  have  cards  in  their  homes.  I  am 
against  everything  that  the  devil  is  in  favor  of,  and  I  favoi 
everything  the  devil  is  against,  no  matter  what  it  is.  If 
you  know  which  side  the  devil  is  on,  put  me  down  on  the 
other  side  any  time. 

Hell  is  the  highest  reward  that  the  devil  can  offer 
you  for  being  a  servant  of  his. 


"I  AM  Against  EvERTTHiNa  that  the  Devil 
IS  IN  Favor  of" 


GIVING  THE  DEVIL  HIS  DUE  187 

The  devil's  got  a  lot  more  sense  than  some  of  you 
preachers  I  know,  and  a  lot  of  you  old  skeptics,  who  quote 
Shakespeare  and  Carlyle  and  Emerson  and  everybody  and 
everything  rather  than  the  Bible. 

When  you  hear  a  preacher  say  that  he  doesn't  beheve 
there  is  a  devil,  you  can  just  bet  your  hat  that  he  never 
preaches  repentance.  The  men  who  do  any  preaching  on 
repentance  know  there  is  a  devil,  for  they  hear  him  roar. 

I  drive  the  same  kind  of  nails  all  orthodox  preachers 
do.  The  only  difference  is  that  they  use  a  tack  hammer 
and  I  use  a  sledge. 

The  preacher  of  today  who  is  a  humanitarian  question 
point  is  preaching  to  empty  benches. 

I  do  not  want  to  believe  and  preach  a  lie.  I  would 
rather  believe  and  preach  a  truth,  no  matter  how  unpleasant 
it  is,  than  to  beUeve  and  preach  a  pleasant  he.  I  believe 
there  is  a  hell.  If  I  didn't  I  wouldn't  have  the  audacity 
to  stand  up  here  and  preach  to  you.  If  there  ever  comes 
a  time  when  I  don't  believe  in  hell  I  will  leave  the  plat- 
form before  I  will  ever  preach  a  sermon  with  that  unbelief 
in  my  heart.  I  would  rather  beheve  and  preach  a  truth, 
no  matter  how  unpleasant,  than  to  beheve  and  preach  a 
he  simply  for  the  friendship  and  favor  of  some  people. 

The  man  that  preaches  the  truth  is  yoxu*  friend.  I 
have  no  desire  to  be  any  more  broad  or  Hberal  than  Jesus, 
not  a  whit,  and  nobody  has  any.  right,  either,  and  claim 
to  be  a  preacher.  Is  a  man  cruel  that  tells  you  the  truth? 
The  man  that  tells  you  there  is  no  hell  is  the  cruel  man, 
and  the  man  that  tells  you  there  is  a  hell  is  your  friend. 
So  it's  a  kindness  to  point  out  the  danger.  God's  ministers 
have  no  business  to  hold  back  the  truth. 

I  don't  believe  you  can  remember  when  you  heard 
a  sermon  on  hell.  Well,  you'll  hear  about  hell  while  I  am 
here.  God  Almighty  put  hell  in  the  Bible  and  any  preacher 
that  sidesteps  it  because  there  are  people  sitting  in  the  pews 
who  don't  like  it,  ought  to  get  out  of  the  pulpit.  He  is 
simply  trimming  his  sails  to  catch  a  passing  breeze  of 
popularity. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
Critics  and  Criticism 

Some  preachers  need  the  cushions  of  their  chairs  upholstered  oftener 
than  they  need  their  shoes  half-soled. — Billy  Sunday. 

IT  is  only  when  the  bull's  eye  is  hit  that  the  bell  rings. 
The  preacher  who  never  gets  a  roar  out  of  the  forces 
of  unrighteousness  may  well  question  whether  he  is 
shooting  straight.  One  of  the  most  significant  tributes  to 
the  Evangehst  Sunday  is  the  storm  of  criticism  which  rages 
about  his  head.  It  is  clear  that  at  least  he  and  his  message 
are  not  a  negligible  quantity. 

This  book  certainly  holds  no  brief  for  the  impeccability 
and  invulnerabihty  of  Billy  Sunday.  Yet  we  cannot  be 
blind  to  the  fact  he  has  created  more  commotion  in  the 
camp  of  evil  than  any  other  preacher  of  his  generation. 
Christians  are  bound  to  say  "We  love  him  for  the  enemies 
he  has  made."  He  hits  harder  at  all  the  forces  that  hurt 
humanity  and  hinder  godliness  than  any  other  living 
warrior  of  God. 

The  forces  of  evil  pay  Billy  Simday  the  compliment  of 
an  elaborately  organized  and  abundantly  financed  assault 
upon  him.  He  is  usually  preceded  and  followed  in  his 
campaigns  by  systematic  attacks  which  aim  to  undermine 
and  discredit  him.  A  weekly  paper,  issued  in  Chicago, 
appears  to  be  devoted  wholly  to  the  disparaging  of  Billy 
Sunday. 

In  rather  startling  juxtaposition  to  that  statement  is 
the  other  that  many  ministers  have  pubUcly  attacked 
Sunday.  This  is  clearly  within  their  right.  He  is  a  pubhc 
issue  and  fairly  in  controversy.  As  he  claims  the  right  of 
free  speech  for  himseK  he  cannot  deny  it  to  others.  Some 
of  his  critics  among  the  clergy  object  to  evangeUsm  in 
general,  some  to  his  particular  methods,  some  to  his  forms 

(188) 


CRITICS  AND  CRITICISM  189 

of  speech,  some  to  his  theology;  but  nobody  apparently 
objects  to  his  results. 

During  the  past  year  there  has  arisen  a  tendency  to 
abate  this  storm  of  clerical  criticism,  for  it  has  been  found 
that  it  is  primarily  serving  the  enemies  of  the  Church. 
Whatever  Billy  Sunday's  shortcomings,  he  is  unquestion- 
ably an  ally  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  and  an  enemy  of 
sin.  His  motives  and  his  achievements  are  both  ahgned 
on  the  side  of  Christ  and  his  Church.  A  host  of  ministers 
of  fine  judgment  who  are  grieved  by  some  of  the  evangeUst's 
forms  of  speech  and  some  of  his  methods,  have  yet  with- 
held their  voices  from  criticism  because  they  do  not  want 
to  fire  upon  the  Kingdom's  warriors  from  the  rear.  Sun- 
day gets  results  for  God;  therefore,  reason  they,  why 
should  we  attack  him? 

There  is  another  side  to  this  shield  of  criticism. 
There  is  no  religious  leader  of  our  day  who  has  such  a  host 
of  ardent  defenders  and  supporters  as  Billy  Sunday.  The 
enthusiasm  of  myriads  for  this  man  is  second  only  to  their 
devotion  to  Christ.  Wherever  he  goes  he  leaves  behind 
him  a  militant  body  of  protagonists.  He  is  championed 
valiantly  and  fearlessly. 

So  vigorous  is  this  spirit  which  follows  in  the  wake  of  a 
Simday  campaign  that  in  a  certain  large  city  where  the 
ministers  of  one  denomination  had  publicly  issued  a  state- 
ment disapproving  of  Mr.  Sunday,  their  denomination  has 
since  suffered*  seriously  in  pubhc  estimation. 

Some  anonymous  supporter  of  Billy  Sunday  has  issued 
a  pamphlet  made  up  exclusively  of  quotations  from  Scrip- 
ture justifying  Sunday  and  his  message.  He  quotes  such 
pertinent  words  as  these: 

And  I,  brethren,  when  I  came  to  you,  came  not  with 
excellency  of  speech  or  of  wisdom,  declaring  imto  you  the 
testimony  of  God. 

For  I  determined  not  to  know  any  thing  among  you,  save 
Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified. 

And  I  was  with  you  in  weakness,  and  in  fear,  and  in 
much  trembling. 


190  CRITICS  AND  CRITICISM 

And  my  speech  and  my  preaching  was  not  with  enticing 
words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit 
and  of  power; 

That  your  faith  should  not  stand  in  the  wisdom  of  men, 
but  in  the  power  of  God. 

For  Christ  sent  me  not  to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the 
gospel:  not  with  wisdom  6f  words,  lest  the  cross  of  Christ 
should  be  made  of  none  effect. 

For  the  preaching  of  the  cross  is  to  them  that  perish 
fooUshness;  but  unto  us  which  are  saved  it  is  the  power  of 
God. 

For  it  is  written,  I  will  destroy  the  wisdom  of  the  wise, 
and  will  bring  to  nothing  the  understanding  of  the  prudent. 

Where  is  the  wise?  where  is  the  scribe?  where  is  the 
disputer  of  this  world?  hath  not  God  made  foohsh  the  wis- 
dom of  this  world? 

For  after  that  in  the  wisdom  of  God  the  world  by  wisdom 
knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God  by  the  fooHshness  of  preaching 
to  save  them  that  believe. 

For  the  Jews  require  a  sign,  and  the  Greeks  seek  after 
wisdom: 

But  we  preach  Christ  crucified,  imto  the  Jews  a  stum- 
blingblock,  and  unto  the  Greeks  fooHshness; 

But  unto  them  which  are  called,  both  Jews  and  Greeks, 
Christ  the  power  of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of  God. 

Because  the  fooHshness  of  God  is  wiser  than  men;  and 
the  weakness  of  God  is  stronger  than  men. 

For  ye  see  your  calling,  brethren,  how  that  not  many 
wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble, 
are  called: 

But  God  hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the  world 
to  confound  the  wise;  •  and  God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things 
of  the  world  to  confound  the  things  which  are  mighty; 

And  base  things  of  the  world,  and  things  which  are 
despised,  hath  God  chosen,  yea,  and  things  which  are  not, 
to  bring  to  nought  things  that  are. 

A  great  marvel  is  that  this  unconventional  preacher 
has  enlisted  among  his  supporters  a  host  of  intellectual  and 
spiritual  leaders  of  our  time.    The  churches  of  the  country, 


CRITICS  AND  CRITICISM  191 

broadly  speaking,  are  for  him,  and  so  are  their  pastors. 
This  might  be  attributed  to  partisanship,  for  certainly 
Smiday  is  promoting  the  work  of  the  Church;  but  what  is 
to  be  said  when  Provost  Edgar  F.  Smith  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania  comes  out  in  an  unquahfied  endorsement 
of  the  man  and  his  work;  or  such  an  acute  lawyer  and  dis- 
tinguished churchman  as  George  Wharton  Pepper  of  Phila- 
delphia, well  known  in  the  councils  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church,  gives  his  hearty  approval  to  Sunday? 

Consider  the  letter  which  Secretary  of  State  Bryan 
wrote  to  Sunday  after  hearing  him  at  the  Pittsburgh  Taber- 
nacle: 

The  Secretaby  of  State. 

Washington,  January  12,  1914. 

My  dear  Sunday:  Having  about  four  hours  in  Pitts- 
bm-gh  last  night,  my  wife  and  I  attended  yom*  meeting  and  so 
we  heard  and  felt  the  powerful  sermon  which  you  delivered. 
We  noted  the  attention  of  that  vast  audience  and  watched 
the  people,  men  and  women,  old  and  young,  who  thronged 
about  you  in  response  to  your  appeal.  Mrs.  Bryan  had  never 
heard  you,  and  I  had  heard  only  a  short  afternoon  address. 
Last  night  you  were  at  your  best.  I  cannot  conceive  of  your 
surpassing  that  effort  in  effectiveness. 

Do  not  allow  yourself  to  be  disturbed  by  criticism. 
God  is  giving  you  souls  for  your  hire  and  that  is  a  sufficient 
answer.  Christ  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  both  he 
and  John  the  Baptist  had  to  meet  criticism  because  they  were 
so  much  unhke  in  manner.  No  man  can  do  good  without 
making  enemies,  but  yours  as  a  rule  will  be  among  those  who 
do  not  hear  you.  Go  on,  and  may  the  Heavenly  Father 
use  you  for  many  years  to  come,  as  he  has  for  many  years 
past,  and  bring  multitudes  to  know  Christ  as  he  presented 
himseK  when  he  said,  "I  am  the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life." 

Am  sorry  we  could  not  see  you  personally,  but  we  left 
because  we  found  that  we  were  discovered.  Some  insisted 
upon  shaking  hands  and  I  was  afraid  I  might  become  a 
cause  of  disturbance.  Mrs.  Bryan  joins  me  in  regards  to 
Mrs.  Sunday  and  yourself. 

Yours  truly, 

W.  J.  Bbyan. 


192  CRITICS  AND  CRITICISM 

One  need  be  surprised  at  nothing  in  connection  with 
such  a  personality  as  Billy  Sunday,  yet  surely  there  is  no 
precedent  for  this  resolution,  adopted  by  the  Pittsburgh 
City  Council,  while  he  was  in  that  city: 

Whereas,  The  Rev.  William  A.  Sunday  and  his  party 
have  been  in  the  city  of  Pittsburgh  for  the  past  eight  weeks, 
conducting  evangelistic  services,  and  the  Council  of  the 
city  being  convinced  of  the  immense  good  which  has  been 
accomphshed  through  his  work  for  morality,  good  citizen- 
ship and  religion,  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Council  of  the  city  of  Pittsbiu'gh 
express  its  utmost  confidence  in  Mr.  Sunday  and  all  of  the 
members  of  his  party;  and  be  it  fmi;her 

Resolved,  That  it  does  hereby  express  to  them  its 
appreciation  of  all  the  work  that  has  been  done,  and  extends 
to  Mr.  Sunday  its  most  cordial  wishes  for  his  future  success. 

While  the  adverse  critics  are  doing  all  in  their  power  to 
discredit  him  as  he  goes  from  place  to  place,  Sunday's  friends 
also  are  not  idle.  In  Scranton,  for  instance,  before  the 
campaign  opened,  men  in  nearly  all  walks  of  life  received 
letters  from  men  in  corresponding  callings  in  Pittsburgh 
bearing  tribute  to  Billy  Sunday.  Thus,  bankers  would 
inclose  in  their  correspondence  from  Pittsburgh  an  earnest 
recommendation  of  Sunday  and  a  suggestion  that  the 
bankers  of  Scranton  stand  squarely  to  his  support.  The 
local  Scranton  plumber  heard  from  a  plumbers*  supply 
house;  labor  union  men  heard  from  their  fellows  in  Pitts- 
burgh; lawyers  and  doctors,  and  a  host  of  businessmen,  had 
letters  from  personal  friends  in  Pittsburgh,  telUng  what 
Sunday  had  done  for  that  community,  and  in  many  cases 
bearing  personal  testimony  to  what  his  message  had  meant 
to  the  writers. 

This  is  nearer  to  effective  organization  than  the  Chris- 
tian forces  of  the  country  commonly  get.  This  form  of 
propaganda  did  not  bulk  large  in  the  public  eye,  but  it 
created  a  splendid  undercurrent  of  sentiment;  for  Banker 


CRITICS  AND  CRITICISM  193 

Jones  could  say:  "I  have  it  straight  from  Banker  Smith  of 
Pittsburgh,  whom  I  know  to  be  a  level-headed  man,  that 
Sunday  is  all  right,  and  that  he  does  nothing  but  good  for 
the  city." 

Still  more  novel  than  this  was  the  expedition  sent  by 
a  great  daily  newspaper  to  hear  the  evangehst  in  Scranton. 
There  is  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  Christian  work  for  the 
deputation  of  more  than  two  hundred  pastors  who  went 
to  Scranton  from  Philadelphia.  These  went  entirely  at  the 
charges  of  the  Philadelphia  North  American,  being  carried 
in  special  trains.  The  railroad  company  recognized  the 
significance  of  this  unusual  occasion,  and  both  ways  the 
train  broke  records  for  speed. 

While  in  the  city  of  Scranton  the  ministers  were  the 
guests  of  the  Scranton  churches.  They  had  special  space 
reserved  for  them  in  the  Tabernacle  and  their  presence  drew 
the  greatest  crowds  that  were  experienced  during  the  Scran- 
ton campaign.  Of  course  thousands  were  turned  away. 
Nobody  who  saw  and  heard  it  will  ever  forget  the  way  that 
solid  block  of  Philadelphia  pastors  stood  up  and  sang  in 
mighty  chorus  "I  Love  to  Tell  the  Story." 

Between  sessions  these  Philadelphia  ministers  were 
visiting  their  brethren  in  Scranton,  learning  in  most  detailed 
fashion  what  the  effects  of  the  Sunday  campaign  had  been. 
Whenever  they  gathered  in  pubUc  assemblies  they  sounded 
the  refrain,  which  grew  in  significance  from  day  to  day: 
"I  Love  to  Tell  the  Story."  Billy  Sunday  fired  the  evan- 
gehstic  purpose  of  these  pastors. 

When  this  unique  excursion  was  ended,  and  the  com- 
pany had  de-trained  at  the  Reading  Terminal,  the  ministers, 
without  pre-arrangement,  gathered  in  a  body  in  the  train 
shed  and  Hfted  their  voices  in  the  refrain  "I  Love  to  Tell  the 
Story,"  while  htmdreds  and  thousands  of  hurrying  city  folk, 
attracted  by  the  unwonted  music,  gathered  to  learn  what 
this  could  possibly  mean. 

A  new  mihtancy  was  put  into  the  preaching  of  these 
clergymen  by  their  Scranton  visit;  and  many  of  them  later 
u 


194  CRITICS  AND  CRITICISM 

reported  that  the  largest  congregations  of  all  their  ministerial 
experience  were  those  which  gathered  to  hear  them  report 
on  the  Smiday  evangelistic  campaign.  Not  a  few  of  the 
preachers  had  to  repeat  their  Billy  Sunday  sermons.  Need- 
less to  say,  an  enthusiastic  and  urgent  invitation  to  Sun- 
day to  come  to  Philadelphia  to  conduct  a  campaign, 
followed  this  demonstration  on  the  part  of  the  daily  news- 
paper. 

That  there  is  a  strategic  value  in  rallying  all  the  churches 
about  one  man  was  demonstrated  by  the  Methodists  of 
Philadelphia  on  this  occasion.  Bishop  Joseph  F.  Berry  had 
heartily  indorsed  the  project,  and  had  urged  all  of 
the  Methodist  pastors  who  could  possibly  do  so  to  accept 
the  Norih  Avierican's  invitation.  The  Methodist  delega- 
tion was  an  enthusiastic  unit.  When  they  returned  to 
Philadelphia  a  special  issue  of  the  local  Methodist  paper  was 
issued,  and  in  this  thirty-two  articles  appeared,  each  written 
by  an  aroused  pastor  who  had  been  a  member  of  the 
delegation.  Incidentally,  all  of  the  city  papers,  as  well  as 
the  religious  press  of  a  very  wide  region,  reported  this 
extraordinary  pilgrimage  of  more  than  two  hundred  pastors 
to  a  distant  city  to  hear  an  evangelist  preach  the  gospel.  A 
reflex  of  this  was  the  return  visit,  some  months  later,  of  a 
thousand  "trail-hitters"  to  speak  in  Philadelphia  pulpits. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  the  criticism  of  Sunday, 
pro  and  con,  it  should  be  insisted  that  no  public  man  or 
institution  should  be  free  from  the  corrective  power  of  pub- 
lic opinion,  openly  expressed.  This  is  one  of  the  whole- 
some agencies  of  democracy.  Mr.  Sunday  himself  is  not 
slow  to  express  his  candid  opinion  of  the  Church,  the  ministry, 
and  of  society  at  large.  It  would  be  a  sad  day  for  him 
should  all  critical  judgment  upon  his  work  give  way  to  un- 
reasoning adulation. 

The  best  rule  to  follow  in  observing  the  evangelist's 
ministry  is,  "Never  judge  unfinished  work."  Only  a 
completed  campaign  should  pass  in  review  before  the  critics; 
only  the  whole  substance  of  the  man's  message;    only  the 


CRITICS  AND  CRITICISM  195 

entire  effect  of  his  work  upon  the  public.  Partial  judgments 
are  sure  to  be  incorrect  judgments. 

Billy  Sunday  succeeds  in  making  clear  to  all  his  hearers — 
indeed  he  impresses  them  so  deeply  that  the  whole  city  talks 
of  little  else  for  weeks — that  God  has  deahngs  with  every 
man ;  and  that  God  cares  enough  about  man  to  provide  for 
him  a  way  of  escape  from  the  terrible  reality  of  sin,  that  way 
being  Jesus  Christ. 

When  a  preacher  succeeds  in  lodging  that  conviction 
in  the  minds  of  the  multitudes,  he  is  heaven's  messenger. 
Whether  he  speak  in  Choctaw,  Yiddish,  Bostonese  or  in  the 
slang  of  Chicago,  is  too  trivial  a  matter  to  discuss.  We  do 
not  inspect  the  wardrobe  or  the  vocabulary  of  the  hero  who 
rides  before  the  flood,  urging  the  people  to  safety  in  the 
hills. 

PLAIN  SPEECH  FROM  SUNDAY  HIMSELF  ' 

The  hour  is  come;  come  for  something  else.  It  has 
come  for  plainness  of  speech  on  the  part  of  the  preacher. 
If  you  have  anything  to  antagonize,  out  with  it;  specify  sins 
and  sinners.  You  can  always  count  on  a  decent  public  to 
right  a  wrong,  and  any  pubhc  that  won't  right  a  wrong  is 
a  good  one  to  get  out  of. 

Charles  Finney  went  to  Europe  to  preach,  and  in  Lon- 
don a  famous  free-thinker's  wife  went  to  hear  him.  The  free- 
thinker's wife  noticed  a  great  change  in  him;  he  was  more 
kind,  more  affectionate,  more  affable,  less  abusive  and  she 
said,  "I  know  what  is  the  matter  with  you;  you  have  been 
to  hear  that  man  from  America  preach."  And  he  said, 
''Wife,  that  is  an  insult;  that  man  Finney  don't  preach;  he 
just  makes  plain  what  the  other  fellows  preach."  Now  the 
foremost  preacher  of  his  day  was  Paul.  What  he  preached 
of  his  day  was  not  so  much  idealism  as  practicality;  not 
so  much  theology,  homiletics,  exegesis  or  didactics,  but  a 
manner  of  life.  I  tell  you  there  was  no  small  fuss  about  his 
way  of  teaching.  When  Paul  was  on  the  job  the  devil 
was  awake.  There  is  a  kind  of  preaching  that  will  never 
arouse  the  devil. 


196  CRITICS  AND  CRITICISM 

*'He  that  believeth  not  is  condemned  already."  He 
that  has  not  believed  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  only  begotten  son 
of  God,  is  condemned  where  he  sits. 

Too  much  of  the  preaching  of  today  is  too  nice;  too 
pretty;  too  dainty;  it  does  not  kill.  Too  many  sermons 
are  just  given  for  literary  excellence  of  the  production. 
They  get  a  nice  adjective  or  noim,  or  pronoun — ^you  cannot 
be  saved  by  grammar.  A  little  bit  of  grammar  is  all  right, 
but  don't  be  a  big  fool  and  sit  around  and  criticize  because 
the  preacher  gets  a  word  wrong — if  you  do  that  your  head 
is  filled  with  buck  oysters  and  sawdust,  if  that  is  all  that  you 
can  use  it  for. 

They've  been  xjrying  peace.  There  is  no  peace.  Some 
people  won't  come  to  hear  me  because  they  are  afraid  to 
hear  the  truth.  They  want  deodorized,  disinfected  sermons. 
They  are  afraid  to  be  stuck  over  the  edge  of  the  pit  and  get 
a  smell  of  the  brimstone.  You  can't  get  rid  of  sin  as  long 
as  you  treat  it  as  a  cream  puff  instead  of  a  rattlesnake.  You 
can't  brush  sin  away  with  a  feather  duster.  Go  ask  the 
drunkard  who  has  been  made  sober  whether  he  likes  "Bill." 
Go  ask  the  girl  who  was  dragged  from  the  quagmire  of  shame 
and  restored  to  her  mother's  arms  whether  she  likes  ''Bill." 
Go  ask  the  happy  housewife  who  gets  the  pay  envelope  every 
Saturday  night  instead  of  its  going  to  the  fiJthy  saloon- 
keeper whether  she's  for  "Bill."  Some  people  say,  "Oh, 
he's  sensational."  Nothing  would  be  more  sensational  than 
if  some  of  you  were  suddenly  to  become  decent.  I  would 
rather  be  a  guide-post  than  a  tombstone. 

I  repeat  that  everybody  who  is  decent  or  wants  to  be 
decent,  will  admire  you  when  you  preach  the  truth,  although 
you  riddle  them  when  you  do  it.  The  hour  is  come,  my 
friend.  The  hour  is  come  to  believe  in  a  revival.  Some 
people  do  not  beheve  in  revivals;  neither  does  the  devil; 
so  you  are  like  your  daddy. 

I  can  see  those  disciples  praying,  and  talking  and  having 
a  big  time.  There  are  many  fool  short-sighted  ministers 
who  are  satisfied  if  they  can  only  draw  a  large  crowd.    Som« 


CRITICS  AND  CRITICISM  197 

are  as  crazy  after  sensations  as  the  yellowest  newspaper 
that  ever  came  off  the  press.  That's  the  reason  we  have 
these  sermons  on  "The  Hobble  Skirt"  and  "The  Merry 
Widow  Hat"  and  other  such  nonsensical  tonomyrot.  If 
there  were  not  so  many  March-hare  sort  of  fellows  breaking 
into  pulpits  you  would  have  to  sweat  more  and  work  harder. 
There  are  some  of  you  that  have  the  devil  in  you.  Maybe 
you  don't  treat  your  wife  square.  Maybe  you  cheat  in  your 
weights.  Get  rid  of  the  devil.  What  does  it  matter  if  you 
pack  a  church  to  the  roof  if  nothing  happens  to  turn  the 
devil  pale?  What  is  the  use  of  putting  chairs  in  the  aisles 
and  out  the  doors? 

The  object  of  the  Church  is  to  cast  out  devils. 

The  devil  has  more  sense  than  lots  of  little  preachers. 
I  have  been  unfortunate  enough  to  know  D.D.'s  and  LL.D.'s 
sitting  aroimd  whittling  down  the  doctrine  of  the  personality 
of  the  devil  to  as  fine  a  point  as  they  know  how.  You  are  a 
fool  to  listen  to  them.  The  devil  is  no  fool,  he  is  no  four- 
flusher.  He  said  to  Christ:  "If  you  are  a  God,  act  like  it; 
if  you  are  a  man,  and  beUeve  the  Scriptures,  act  as  one  who 
believes." 

John  the  Baptist  wasn't  that  kind  of  a  preacher.  Jesus 
Christ  wasn't  that  kind  of  a  preacher.  The  apostles  weren't 
that  kind  of  preachers — except  old  Judas.  John  the  Baptist 
opened  the  Bible  right  in  the  middle  and  preached  the  word 
of  God  just  as  he  found  it,  and  he  didn't  care  whether  the 
people  hked  it  or  not.  That  wasn't  his  business.  I  tell 
you,  John  the  Baptist  stirred  up  the  devil.  If  any  minister 
doesn't  beheve  in  a  personal  devil  it's  because  he  has  never 
preached  a  sermon  on  repentance,  or  he'd  have  heard  him 
roar.  Yes,  sir.  If  there's  anything  that  will  make  the  devil 
roar  it  is  a  sermon  on  repentance. 

You  can  preach  sociology,  or  psychology,  or  any  other 
kind  of  ology,  but  if  you  leave  Jesus  Christ  out  of  it  you  hit 
the  toboggan  shde  to  hell. 

I'll  preach  against  any  minister  who  is  preaching 
false  doctrines.     I  don't  give  a  rap  who  he  is.    I'll  turn 


198  CRITICS  AND  CRITICISM 

my  guns  loose  against  him,  and  don't  you  forget  that.  Any 
man  who  is  preaching  false  doctrines  to  the  peojjle  and  vomit- 
ing out  false  doctrines  to  them  will  hear  from  me.  I  want 
to  say  that  the  responsibility  for  no  revivals  in  our  cities  and 
towns  has  got  to  be  laid  at  the  doors  of  the  ministry.  Preach- 
ers sit  fighting  their  sham  battles  of  different  denominations, 
through  their  cussedness,  inquiring  into  fol-da-rol  and  tom- 
myrot,  and  there  sits  in  the  pews  of  the  church  that  misera- 
ble old  scoundrel  who  rents  his  property  out  for  a  saloon  and 
is  going  to  hell;  and  that  other  old  scoundrel  who  rents  his 
houses  for  houses  of  ill  fame  and  is  Uving  directly  on  the 
proceeds  of  prostitution,  and  he  doesn't  preach  against  it. 
He  is  afraid  he  will  turn  the  men  against  him.  He  is  afraid 
of  his  job.  They  are  a  lot  of  backsUders  and  the  whole 
bunch  will  go  to  hell  together.  They  are  afraid  to  come  out 
against  it. 

I'll  tell  you  what's  the  matter.  Listen  to  me.  The 
Church  of  God  has  lost  the  spirit  of  concern  today  largely 
because  of  the  ministry — that's  what's  the  matter  with 
them.  I'll  allow  no  man  or  woman  to  go  beyond  me  in 
paying  tribute  to  culture.  I  don't  mean  this  miserable  "dog" 
business,  shaking  hands  with  two  fingers.  The  less  brains 
some  people  have  the  harder  they  try  to  show  you  that  they 
have  some,  or  think  they  have.  I  allow  no  man  to  go  beyond 
me  in  paying  tribute  to  real,  genuine  culture,  a  tribute  to 
intellectual  greatness;  but  when  a  man  stands  in  the  pulpit 
to  preach  he  has  got  to  be  a  man  of  God.  He  has  got  to 
speak  with  the  passion  for  souls.  If  you  sleep  in  the  time 
of  a  revival  God  Almighty  will  wake  you  up. 

There  are  lots  of  preachers  who  don't  know  Jesus. 
They  know  about  him,  but  they  don't  know  him.  Experi- 
ence will  do  more  than  forty  milUon  theories.  I  can  experi- 
ment with  religion  just  the  same  as  I  can  with  water.  No 
two  knew  Him  exactly  alike,  but  all  loved  Him.  All  would 
have  something  to  say. 

Now  for  you  preachers.  When  a  man  prays  "Thy 
Kingdom  Come"  he  will  read  the  Bible  to  find  out  the  way 


CRITICS  AND  CRITICISM  199 

to  make  it  come.  The  preacher  who  praj'^s  "Thy  Kingdom 
Come"  will  not  get  all  his  reading  from  the  new  books  or 
from  the  magazines.  He  will  not  try  to  please  the  high- 
brows and  in  pleasing  them  miss  the  masses.  He  will  not 
try  to  tickle  the  palates  of  the  giraffes  and  then  let  the  sheep 
starve.  He  will  put  his  cookies  on  the  lower  shelf.  He  will 
preach  in  a  language  that  the  commonest  laborer  can 
understand. 

One  of  the  prolific  sources  of  unbeUef  and  backshding 
today  is  a  bottle-fed  church,  where  the  whole  membership 
lets  the  preacher  do  the  studying  of  the  Bible  for  them. 
He  will  go  to  the  pulpit  with  his  mind  full  of  his  sermon  and 
they  will  come  to  the  church  with  their  minds  filled  with 
society  and  last  night's  card-playing,  beer-and-wine-drinking 
and  novel-reading  party  and  will  sit  there  half  asleep.  Many 
a  preacher  reminds  me  of  a  great  big  nursing  bottle,  and  there 
are  two  hundred  or  three  hundred  rubber  tubes,  with  nipples 
on  the  end,  running  into  the  mouths  of  two  hundred  or  three 
hundred  or  four  hundred  great  big  old  babies  with  whiskers 
and  breeches  on,  and  hair  pins  stuck  in  their  heads  and  rats 
in  their  hair,  sitting  there,  and  they  suck  and  draw  from  the 
preacher.  Some  old  sister  gets  the  "Amusement"  nipple  in 
her  mouth  and  it  sours  her  stomach,  and  up  go  her  heels 
and  she  yells.  Then  the  preacher  has  to  go  around  and  sing 
psahns  to  that  big  two-hundred-and-fifty-pound  baby  and 
get  her  good-natured  so  that  she  will  go  back  to  church  some 
day. 

By  and  by  some  old  whisky-voting  church  member 
gets  the  "Temperance"  nipple  in  his  mouth  and  it  sours  his 
stomach  and  up  go  his  heels  and  he  lets  out  a  yell,  throws 
his  hands  across  his  abdominal  region,  and  the  preacher  says, 
"Whatever  is  the  matter?  If  I  hit  you  any  place  but  the 
heart  or  the  head  I  apologize."  The  preacher  has  to  be  wet 
nurse  to  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  big  babies  that  haven't 
grown  an  inch  since  they  came  into  the  church. 

One  reason  why  some  preachers  are  not  able  to  bring 
many  sinners  to  repentance  is  because  they  preach  of  a 


200 


:CRITICS  AND  CRITICISM 


God  so  impotent  that  he  can  only  throw  down  card  houses 
when  all  the  signs  are  right!  They  decline  to  magnify  his 
power  for  fear  they  will  overdo  it!  And  if  they  accidentally 
make  a  strong  assertion  as  to  his  power,  they  immediately 
neutraUze  it  by  "as  it  were,"  or  "in  a  measm-e,  perhaps!" 
You  make  a  man  feel  as  though  God  was  stuck  on  him 

and  you'll  be  a 
<!ir\  thirty-third  degree 
"~  sort  of  a  preacher 

with  that  fellow. 

If  some 
preachers  were  as 
true  to  their  trust 
as  John  the  Bap- 
tist, they  might  be 
turned  out  to 
grass,  but  they'd 
lay  up  treasures 
for  themselves  in 
heaven. 

Clergymen  will 
find  their  authority 
for  out-of-the-or- 
dinary  methods  in 
the  lowering  of  a 

"We'v^i  Got  a  Bunch  of  Preachers  BRBAKiNa  paralytic  through  a 
TflEiR  Necks  to  Please  a  Lot  op  Old  ^     .  ''      ,    ,  ,     ?  . 

Society  Dames  "  roof,  as  told  01   m 

the  Bible.  .  If  that 

isn't  sensationalism,  then  trot  some  out. 

If  God  could  convert  the  preachers  the  world  would  be 
saved.  Most  of  them  are  a  lot  of  evolutionary  hot-air 
merchants. 

We've  got  churches,  lots  of  them.  We've  got  preachers, 
seminaries,  and  they  are  turning  out  preachers  and  putting 
them  into  little  theological  molds  and  keeping  them  there 
until  they  get  cold  enough  to  practice  preaching. 

The  reason  some  ministers  are  not  more  interested  in 


CRITICS  AND  CRITICISM  201 

their  work  is  because  they  fail  to  reaUze  that  theirs  is  a 
God-given  mission. 

We've  got  a  bunch  of  preachers  breaking  their  necks 
to  please  a  lot  of  old  society  dames. 

Some  ministers  say,  ''If  you  don't  repent,  you'll  die 
and  go  to  a  place,  the  name  of  which  I  can't  pronounce." 
I  can.    You'll  go  to  hell. 

There  is  not  a  preacher  on  earth  that  can  preach  a 
better  gospel  than  "Bill."  I'm  willing  to  die  for  the  Church. 
I'm  giving  my  life  for  the  Church. 

Your  preachers  would  fight  for  Christ  if  some  of  you 
fossilated,  antiquated  old  hypocrites  didn't  snort  and  snarl 
and  whine. 

A  godless  cowboy  once  went  to  a  brown-stone  church — 
with  a  high-toned  preacher — I  am  a  half-way  house  between 
the  brown-stone  church  and  the  Salvation  Army.  They 
are  both  needed  and  so  is  the  half-way  house.  Well,  this 
fellow  went  to  one  of  these  brown-stone  churches  and  after 
the  preacher  had  finished  the  cowboy  thought  he  had  to  go 
up  and  compliment  the  preacher,  as  he  saw  others  doing, 
and  so  he  sauntered  down  the  aisle  with  his  sombrero  under 
his  arm,  his  breeches  stuck  in  his  boots,  a  bandana  handker- 
chief around  his  neck,  his  gun  and  bowie  knife  in  his  belt, 
and  he  walked  over  and  said:  ''Hanged  if  I  didn't  fight  shy 
of  you  fellows — but  I'll  tell  you  I  sat  here  and  listened  to 
you  for  an  hour  and  you  monkeyed  less  with  religion  than 
any  fellow  I  ever  heard  in  my  life."  They  have  taken  away 
the  Lord  and  don't  know  where  to  find  him. 

You  must  remember  that  Jesus  tells  us  to  shine  for  God. 
The  trouble  with  some  people  and  preachers  is  that  they 
try  to  shine  rather  than  letting  their  fight  shine.  Some 
preachers  put  such  a  big  capital  "I"  in  front  of  the  cross 
that  the  sinner  can't  see  Jesus.  They  want  the  glory. 
They  would  rather  be  a  comet  than  stars  of  Bethlehem. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
A  Clean  Man  on  Social  Sins 

There  are  a  good  many  things  worse  than  living  and  dying  an  old  maid, 
and  one  of  them  is  marrying  the  wrong  man. — Billt  Sunday. 

SUNDAY'S  trumpet  gives  no  uncertain  sound  on  plain, 
every-day  righteousness.  He  is  like  an  Old  Testa- 
ment prophet  in  his  passion  for  clean  conduct.  No 
phase  of  his  work  is  more  notable  than  the  zeal  for  right 
living  which  he  leaves  behind  him.  His  converts  become 
partisans  of  purity. 

Simday's  own  mind  is  clean.  He  does  not,  as  is  some- 
times the  case,  make  his  pleas  for  purity  a  real  ministry  of 
evil.  In  the  guise  of  promoting  purity  he  does  not  pander 
to  pruriency.  As  outspoken  as  the  Bible  upon  social  sin, 
he  yet  leaves  an  impression  so  chaste  that  no  father  would 
hesitate  to  take  his  boy  to  the  big  men's  meeting  which 
Sunday  holds  in  every  campaign;  and  every  woman  who 
has  once  heard  him  talk  to  women  would  be  glad  to  have 
her  daughter  hear  him  also. 

The  verdict  of  all  Christians  who  have  studied  condi- 
tions in  a  community  after  one  of  the  Sunday  campaigns  is 
that  Sunday  has  been  like  a  thunder  storm  that  has  cleared 
the  moral  atmosphere.  Life  is  sweeter  and  safer  and  more 
beautiful  for  boys  and  girls  after  this  man  has  dealt  plainly 
with  social  sins  and  temptations.  Of  course,  it  is  more 
important  to  clean  up  a  neighborhood's  mind  than  its 
streets. 

Even  in  cold  print  one  may  feel  somewhat  of  the 
power  of  the  man's  message  on  "The  Moral  Leper." 

A  PLAIN  TALK  TO  MEN 

"Rejoice,  O  young  man,  in  thy  youth;  and  let  thy 
heart  cheer  thee  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  and  walk  in 

(202) 


A  CLEAN  MAN   ON   SOCIAL  SINS  203 

the  ways  of  thine  heart,  and  in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes: 
but  know  thou  that  for  all  these  things  God  will  bring 
thee  into  judgment." 

''Be  not  deceived;  God  is  not  mocked;  for  whatsoever 
a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  also  reap." 

In  other  words,  do  just  as  you  please;  lie  if  you  want 
to,  steal  if  you  want  to.  God  won't  stop  you,  but  he  will 
hold  you  responsible  in  the  end.  Do  just  as  you  please 
until  the  end  comes  and  the  undertaker  comes  along  and 
pumps  the  embalming  fluid  into  you  and  then  you  are 
all  in. 

No  one  is  living  in  ignorance  of  what  will  become  of 
him  if  he  does  not  go  right  and  trot  square.  He  knows 
there  is  a  heaven  for  the  saved  and  a  hell  for  the  damned, 
and  that's  all  there  is  to  it. 

Many  men  start  out  on  a  life  of  pleasure.  Please 
remember  two  things.  First,  pleasure  soon  has  an  end, 
and,  second,  there  is  a  day  of  judgment  coming  and  you'll 
get  what's  coming  to  you.  God  gives  every  man  a 
square  deal. 

If  a  man  stood  up  and  told  me  he  was  going  to  preach 
on  the  things  I  am  this  afternoon,  I'd  want  him  to  answer 
me  several  questions,  and  if  he  could  do  that  I'd  tell  him 
to  go  ahead. 

First — Are  you  kindly  disposed  toward  me? 

Second — ^Are  you  doing  this  to  help  me? 

Third — Do  you  know  what  you're  talking  about? 

Fourth — Do  you  practice  what  you  preach? 

That's  fair.  Well,  for  the  first.  God  knows  I  am 
kindly  disposed  toward  you.  Second,  God  knows  I  would 
do  anything  in  my  power  to  help  you  be  a  better  man. 
I  want  to  make  it  easier  for  you  to  be  square,  and  harder 
for  you  to  go  to  hell.  Third,  I  know  what  I'm  talking 
about,  for  I  have  the  Bible  to  back  me  up  in  parts  and  the 
statements  of  eminent  physicians  in  other  parts.  And 
fourth,  "Do  I  practice  what  I  preach?"  I  will  defy  and 
challenge  any  man  or  woman  on  earth,  and  I'll  look  any 


204  A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS 

man  in  the  eye  and  challenge  him,  in  the  twenty-seven 
years  I  have  been  a  professing  Christian,  to  show  anything 
against  me.  If  I  don't  live  what  I  preach,  gentlemen,  I'll 
leave  the  pulpit  and  never  walk  back  here  again.  I  Uve  as 
I  preach  and  I  defy  the  dirty  dogs  who  have  insulted  me 
and  my  wife  and  spread  black-hearted  lies  and  viUfications. 

I  was  bom  and  bred  on  a  farm  and  at  the  age  of  eleven 
I  held  my  place  with  men  in  the  harvest  field.  When  I 
was  only  nine  years  old  I  milked  ten  cows  every  morning. 
I  know  what  hard  knocks  are.  I  have  seen  the  seamy  side 
of  life.  I  have  crawled  out  of  the  sewers  and  squalor  and 
want.  I  have  struggled  ever  since  I  was  six  years  old,  an 
orphan  son  of  a  dead  soldier,  up  to  this  pulpit  this  afternoon. 
I  know  what  it  is  to  go  to  bed  with  an  honest  dollar  in  my 
overalls  pocket,  when  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  became  a 
Jenny  Lind  and  the  eagle  on  the  other  side  became  a  nightin- 
gale and  they'd  sing  a  poor,  homeless  orphan  boy  to  sleep. 
I'm  not  here  to  explode  hot  air  and  theories  to  you. 

Some  men  here  in  town,  if  their  wives  asked  them  if 
they  were  coming  down  here,  would  say:  "Oh  no,  I  don't 
want  to  go  anywhere  I  can't  take  you,  dear. "  The  dirty 
old  dogs,  they've  been  many  a  place  they  wouldn't  take 
their  wife  and  they  wouldn't  even  let  her  know  they  were 
there. 

If  sin  weren't  so  deceitful  it  wouldn't  be  so  attractive. 
The  effects  get  stronger  and  stronger  while  you  get  weaker 
and  weaker  all  the  time,  and  there  is  less  chance  of  breaking 
away. 

Many  think  a  Christian  has  to  be  a  sort  of  dish-rag 
proposition,  a  wishy-washy,  sissified  sort  of  a  galoot  that 
lets  everybody  make  a  doormat  out  of  him.  Let  me  tell 
you  the  manhest  man  is  the  man  who  will  acknowledge 
Jesus  Christ. 

Christian  Character 

Christianity  is  the  capital  on  which  you  build  your 
character.     Don't  you  let  the  devil  fool  you.     You  never 


A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS  205 

become  a  man  imtil  you  become  a  Christian.  Christianity 
is  the  capital  on  which  you  do  business.  It's  your  character 
that  gets  you  anything.  Your  reputation  is  what  people 
say  about  you,  but  your  character  is  what  God  and  your 
wife  and  the  angels  know  about  you.  Many  have  reputa- 
tions of  being  good,  but  their  characters  would  make  a 
black  mark  on  a  piece  of  coal  or  tarred  paper. 

I  was  over  in  Terre  Haute,  Indiana,  not  long  ago,  and 
I  was  in  a  bank  there  admiring  the  beauty  of  it  when  the 
vice-president,  Mr.  McCormick,  a  friend  of  mine,  said: 
"Bill,  you  haven't  seen  the  vault  yet,"  and  he  opened  up  the 
vaults  there,  carefully  contrived  against  burglars,  and  let 
me  in.  There  were  three,  and  I  wandered  from  one  to 
another.  No  one  watched  me.  I  could  have  filled  my 
pockets  with  gold  or  silver,  but  no  one  watched  me.  Why 
did  they  trust  me?  Because  they  knew  I  was  preaching 
the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  Hving  up  to  it.  That's  why 
they  trusted  me.  There  was  a  time  in  my  life  when  a  man 
wouldn't  trust  me  with  a  yellow  dog  on  a  comer  fifteen 
minutes. 

Before  I  was  converted  I  could  go  five  rounds  so  fast 
you  couldn't  see  me  for  the  dust,  and  I'm  still  pretty  handy 
with  my  dukes  and  I  can  still  dehver  the  goods  with  all 
express  charges  prepaid.  Before  I  was  converted  I  could 
run  one  hundred  yards  in  ten  seconds  and  circle  the  bases 
in  fourteen  seconds,  and  I  could  run  just  as  fast  after  I  was 
converted.  So  you  don't  have  to  be  a  dish-rag  proposi- 
tion at  all. 

When  a  person's  acts  affect  only  himself  they  can  be 
left  to  the  conscience  of  the  individual,  but  when  they  affect 
others  the  law  steps  in.  When  a  child  has  diphtheria,  you 
are  not  allowed  personal  Hberty;  you  are  quarantined, 
because  yoiu*  personal  Hberty  could  endanger  others  if 
exercised.  So  you  haven't  any  right  to  Uve  in  sin.  You  say 
you'll  do  it  anyhow.  All  right,  you'll  go  to  hell,  too.  Adam 
and  Eve  said  they  would  eat  the  apple  anyhow,  and  the 
world  became  a  graveyard,  and  here's  the  result  today. 


206  A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS 

I  look  out  into  the  world  and  see  a  man  living  in  sin. 
I  argue  with  him,  I  plead  with  him.  I  cry  out  warning  words. 
I  brand  that  man  with  a  black  brand,  whose  iniquities  are 
responsible  for  the  fall  of  others. 

No  man  lives  to  himself  alone.  I  hurt  or  help  others 
by  my  life.  When  you  go  to  hell  you're  going  to  drag  some 
one  else  down  with  you  and  if  you  go  to  heaven  you're  going 
to  take  some  one  else  with  you.  You  say  you  hate  sin.  Of 
course  you  do  if  you  have  self-respect.  But  you  never  saw 
anyone  who  hates  sin  worse  than  I  do,  or  loves  a  sinner 
more  than  I.  I'm  fighting  for  the  sinners.  I'm  fighting  to  save 
your  soul,  just  as  a  doctor  fights  to  save  your  life  from  a 
disease.  I'm  your  friend,  and  you'll  find  that  I'll  not  com- 
promise one  bit  with  sin.  I'll  do  anything  to  help  you. 
No  man  will  argue  that  sin  is  a  good  thing.  Not  a  one  who 
does  not  beheve  that  the  community  would  be  better  off  if 
there  was  no  sin.  I  preach  against  vice  to  show  you  that  it 
will  make  your  girl  an  outcast  and  your  boy  a  drunkard. 
I'm  fighting  everything  that  will  lead  to  this  and  if  I  have  to 
be  your  enemy  to  fight  it,  God  pity  you,  for  I'm  going  to 
fight.    People  do  not  fight  sin  until  it  becomes  a  vice. 

You  say  you're  not  afraid  of  sin.  You  ought  to  be,  for 
your  children.  It  doesn't  take  boys  long  to  get  on  the 
wrong  track,  and  while  you  are  scratching  gravel  to  make  one 
lap,  your  boy  makes  ten.  We've  got  kids  who  have  not  yet 
sprouted  long  breeches  who  know  more  about  sin  and  vice 
than  Methuselah.  There  are  little  frizzled-top  sissies  not 
yet  sprouting  long  dresses  who  know  more  about  vice  than 
did  their  great-grandmothers  when  they  were  seventy-five 
years  old.  The  girl  who  drinks  will  abandon  her  virtue. 
What  did  Methuselah  know  about  smoking  cigarettes?  I 
know  there  are  some  sissy  fellows  out  there  who  object  to 
my  talking  plain  and  know  you  shirk  from  talking  plain. 

If  any  one  ever  tells  you  that  you  can't  be  virtuous  and 
enjoy  good  health,  I  brand  him  as  a  low,  infamous,  black- 
hearted har. 

Ask  any  afflicted  man  you  see  on  the  street.     If  you 


A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS  207 

could  only  reveal  the  heart  of  every  one  of  them !    In  most 
you  would  find  despair  and  disease. 

How  little  he  thinks  when  he  is  nursing  that  lust  that 
he  is  nursing  a  demon  which,  like  a  vampire,  will  suck  his 
blood  and  wreck  his  life  and  blacken  and  bhght  his  existence. 
And  if  any  httle  children  are  born  to  him,  they  will  be  weak 
anemics  without  the  proper  blood  in  their  veins  to  support 
them.  Om*  young  men  ought  to  be  taught  that  no  sum  they 
can  leave  to  a  charitable  institution  can  blot  out  the  deeds 
of  an  ignominious  life.  You  don't  have  to  look  far  for  the 
reason  why  so  many  young  men  fail;  why  they  go  through 
life  weak,  ambitionless,  useless. 

Common  Sense 

Let's  be  common  folks  together  today.  Let's  be  men, 
and  talk  sense. 

As  a  rule  a  man  wants  something  better  for  his  children 
than  he  has  had  for  himself.  My  father  died  before  I  was 
bom  and  I  lived  with  my  grandfather.  He  smoked,  but  he 
didn't  want  me  to.  He  chewed,  but  he  didn't  want  me  to. 
He  drank,  but  he  didn't  want  me  to.  He  cussed,  but  he 
didn't  want  me  to.  He  made  wine  that  would  make  a  man 
fight  his  own  mother  after  he  had  drunk  it.  I  remember  how 
I  used  to  find  the  bottles  and  suck  the  wine  through  a  straw 
or  an  onion  top. 

One  day  a  neighbor  was  in  and  my  grandfather  asked 
him  for  a  chew.  He  went  to  hand  it  back,  and  I  wanted 
some.  He  said  I  couldn't  have  it.  I  said  I  wanted  it  any- 
how, and  he  picked  me  up  and  turned  me  across  his  knee 
and  gave  me  a  crack  that  made  me  see  stars  as  big  as 
moons. 

If  there  is  a  father  that  hits  the  booze,  he  doesn't  want 
his  son  to.  If  he  is  keeping  some  one  on  the  side,  he  doesn't 
want  his  son  to.  In  other  words,  you  would  not  want  your 
son  to  live  like  you  if  you  are  not  Uving  right. 

An  old  general  was  at  the  bedside  of  his  dying  daughter. 
He  didn't  believe  in  the  Bible  and  his  daughter  said,  "What 


208  A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS 

shall  I  do?  You  don^t  believe  in  the  Bible.  Mamma  does. 
If  I  obey  one  I'm  going  against  the  other."  The  old  general 
put  his  arms  around  his  daughter  and  said:  "Follow  your 
mother's  way;  it  is  the  safest."  Man  wants  his  children  to 
have  that  which  is  sure. 

I  have  sometimes  imagined  that  young  fellow  in  Luke 
XV.  He  came  to  his  father  and  said,  "Dig  up.  I'm  tired 
of  this  and  want  to  see  the  world."  His  father  didn't 
know  what  he  meant.  "Come  across  with  the  mazuma,  come 
clean,  divvy.  I  want  the  coin,  see?"  Finally  the  father 
tumbled,  and  he  said,  "I  got  you,"  and  he  divided  up  his 
share  and  gave  it  to  the  young  man.  Then  he  goes  down  to 
Babylon  and  starts  out  on  a  sporting  life.  He  meets  the 
young  blood  and  the  gay  dame.  I  can  imagine  that  young 
fellow  the  first  time  he  swore.  If  his  mother  had  been  near 
he  would  have  looked  at  her  and  blushed  rose  red.  But  he 
thought  he  had  to  cuss  to  be  a  man. 

No  man  can  be  a  good  husband,  no  man  can  be  a  good 
father,  no  man  can  be  a  respectable  citizen,  no  man  can 
be  a  gentleman,  and  swear.  You  can  hang  out  a  sign  of 
gentleman,  but  when  you  cuss  you  might  as  well  take 
it  in. 

There  are  three  things  which  will  ruin  any  town  and 
give  it  a  bad  name — open  licensed  saloons;  a  dirty,  cussing, 
swearing  gang  of  blacklegs  on  the  street;  and  vile  story 
tellers.  Let  a  town  be  known  for  these  three  things,  and 
these  alone,  and  you  could  never  start  a  boom  half  big 
enough  to  get  one  man  there. 

Old  men,  young  men,  boys,  swear.  What  do  you  cuss 
for?  It  doesn't  do  you  any  good,  gains  you  nothing  in  busi- 
ness or  society;  it  loses  you  the  esteem  of  men.  God  said 
more  about  cussing  than  anything.  God  said,  "Thou  shalt 
not  kill,"  "Thou  shalt  not  steal,"  "Thou  shalt  not  bear 
false  witness,"  but  God  said  more  about  cussing  than  them 
all;  and  men  are  still  cussing.  "Thou  shalt  not  take  the 
name  of  the  Lord  thy  Grod  in  vain,  for  the  Lord  will  not 
hold  him  guiltless  who  taketh  his  name  in  vain." 


A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS  209 

No  Excuse  for  Swearing 

I  can  see  how  you  can  get  out  of  anything  but  cussing. 
I  can  see  how  a  man  could  be  placed  in  such  a  position  that 
he  would  kill  and  be  exonerated  by  the  law  of  God  and  man, 
if  he  killed  to  protect  his  life,  or  the  life  of  another. 

I  can  see  how  a  man  could  be  forced  to  steal  if  he  stole 
to  keep  his  wife  from  starving. 

Up  in  Chicago  several  years  ago  there  was  a  long- 
continued  strike  and  the  last  division  of  the  tmion  treasury 
had  given  each  man  twenty-five  cents.  A  man  went  into  the 
railroad  yards  and  got  a  bag  of  coal  from  one  of  the  cars. 
They  pinched  him  and  he  came  up  before  a  judge.  He  told 
the  judge  that  he  had  only  the  twenty-five  cents  of  the  last 
division  and  he  spent  that  for  food.  His  wife  and  two  chil- 
dren were  at  home  starving  and  he  had  no  fire.  He  stole  the 
coal  to  cook  their  food.  The  judge  thundered,  "Get  out 
of  this  room  and  get  home  and  build  that  fire  as  quickly  as 
you  can." 

Say,  boys,  if  I  was  on  a  jury  and  you  could  prove  to 
me  that  a  father  had  stolen  a  loaf  of  bread  to  keep  his  wife 
from  starving  you  could  keep  me  in  the  room  until  the  ants 
took  me  out  through  the  keyhole  before  I'd  stick  him.  That 
may  not  be  law,  I  don't  know;  but  you'll  find  there  is  a  big 
streak  of  human  nature  in  Bill. 

There  isn't  a  fellow  in  this  crowd  but  what  would  be 
disgusted  if  his  wife  or  sister  would  cuss  and  hit  the  booze 
like  he  does.  If  she  would  put  fifteen  or  twenty  beers  under 
her  belt,  he'd  go  whining  around  a  divorce  court  for  a  divorce 
right  away  and  say  he  couldn't  live  with  her.  Why,  you 
dirty  dog,  she  has  to  live  with  you. 

I  heard  of  a  fellow  whose  wife  thought  she  would  show 
him  how  he  sounded  around  the  house  and  give  him  a  dose 
of  his  own  medicine.  So  one  morning  he  came  down  and 
asked  for  his  breakfast.  ''Why  you  old  blankety,  blank, 
blank,  bald-headed,  blankety,  blankety,  blank,  you  can  get 
your  own  breakfast."  He  was  horrified,  but  every  time  he 
tried  to  say  anything  she  would  bring  out  a  bunch  of  lurid 
14  -      - 


210  A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS 

oaths  until  finally  he  said,  "Wife,  if  you'll  cut  out  that  cuss- 
ing I'll  never  swear  again." 

I  have  sometimes  tried  to  imagine  myself  in  Damascus 
on  review  day,  and  have  seen  a  man  riding  on  a  horse  richly 
caparisoned  with  trappings  of  gold  and  silver,  and  he  himself 
clothed  in  garments  of  the  finest  fabrics,  and  the  most 
costly,  though  with  a  face  so  sad  and  melancholy  that  it 
would  cause  the  beholder  to  turn  and  look  a  second  and  third 
time.  But  he  was  a  leper.  And  a  man  unaccustomed 
to  such  scenes  might  be  heard  to  make  a  remark  like  this: 
''How  unequally  God  seems  to  divide  his  favors!  There  is 
a  man  who  rides  and  others  walk;  he  is  clothed  in  costly 
garments;  they  are  almost  naked  while  he  is  well  fed," 
and  they  contrast  the  difference  between  the  man  on  the 
horse  and  the  others.  If  we  only  knew  the  breaking  hearts 
of  the  people  we  envy  we  would  pity  them  from  the  bottom 
of  our  souls. 

I  was  being  driven  through  a  suburb  of  Chicago  by  a 
real  estate  man  who  wanted  to  sell  me  a  lot.  He  was  telling 
me  who  lived  here  and  who  lived  there,  and  what  an  honor 
it  would  be  for  me  and  my  children  to  possess  a  home  there. 
We  were  driving  past  a  house  that  must  have  cost  $100,000 
and  he  said:  "That  house  is  owned  by  Mr.  So-and-So.  He 
is  one  of  our  multi-millionaires,  and  he  and  his  wife  have 
been  known  to  live  in  that  house  for  months  and  never  speak 
to  each  other.  They  each  have  separate  apartments,  each 
has  a  separate  retinue  of  servants,  each  a  dining-room  and 
sleeping  apartments,  and  months  come  and  go  by  and 
they  never  speak  to  each  other."  My  thoughts  hurried 
back  to  the  little  flat  we  called  our  home,  where  we 
had  lived  for  seventeen  years.  I  have  paid  rent  enough 
to  pay  for  it.  There  wasn't  much  in  it;  I  could  load 
it  in  two  furniture  vans,  maybe  three,  counting  the 
piano,  but  I  would  not  trade  the  happiness  and  the  joy 
and  the  love  of  that  little  flat  if  I  had  to  take  that 
palatial  home  and  the  sorrow  and  the  things  that  went 
with  it. 


A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS  211 

Family  Skeletons 

Suppose  you  were  driving  along  the  street  and  a  man  who 
was  intimate]}^  acquainted  with  the  skeletons  that  are  in 
every  family,  should  tell  you  the  secrets  of  them  all,  of  that 
boy  who  has  broken  his  father's  heart  by  being  a  drunkard, 
a  black-leg  gambler,  and  that  girl  who  has  gone  astray,  and 
that  wife  who  is  a  conunon  drunkard,  made  so  by  society, 
and  the  father  himself  who  is  also  a  sinner. 

Leprosy  is  exceedingly  loathsome,  and  as  I  study  its 
pathology  I  am  not  surprised  that  God  used  it  as  a  type  of 
sin.  A  man  who  is  able  to  understand  this  disease,  its 
beginning  and  its  progress,  might  be  approached  by  a  man 
who  was  thus  afiiicted  and  might  say  to  him,  "Hurry! 
hurry!  Show  yourself  to  the  priest  for  the  cleansing  of  the 
Mosaic  law." 

"Why?"  says  the  man  addressed.  "What  is  the 
trouble?"  The  other  man  would  say,  "Do  hurry  and  show 
yourself  to  the  priest."  But  the  man  says,  "That  is  only 
a  fester,  only  a  water  blister,  only  a  pimple,  nothing  more. 
I  say  there  is  no  occasion  to  be  alarmed.  You  are  unduly 
agitated  and  excited  for  my  welfare." 

Those  sores  are  only  few  now,  but  it  spreads,  and  it  is 
first  upon  the  hand,  then  upon  the  arm,  and  from  the  arm 
it  goes  on  until  it  lays  hold  of  every  nerve,  artery,  vein 
with  its  slimy  coil,  and  continues  until  the  disintegration 
of  the  parts  takes  place  and  they  drop  off,  and  then  it  is  too 
late.  But  the  man  who  was  concerned  saw  the  beginning 
of  that,  not  only  the  end,  but  the  beginning.  He  looked 
yonder  and  saw  the  end  too.  If  you  saw  a  blaze  you  would 
cry,  "Fire!"  Why?  Because  you  know  that  if  let  alone 
it  will  consume  the  building. 

That  is  the  reason  why  you  hurry  when  you  get  evidence 
of  the  disease.  So  I  say  to  you,  young  man,  don't  you  go 
with  that  godless,  good-for-nothing  gang  that  blaspheme 
and  sneer  atrehgion,  that  bunch  of  character  assassins;  they 
will  make  of  your  body  a  doormat  to  wipe  their  feet  upon. 
Don't  go  with  that  bunch.     I  heard  you  swear,  I  heard  you 


212         A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS 

sneer  at  religion.  Stop,  or  you  will  become  a  staggering, 
muttering,  bleary-eyed,  foul-mouthed  down-and-outer,  on 
your  way  to  hell.  I  say  to  you  stop,  or  you  will  go  reeling 
down  to  hell,  breaking  your  wife's  heart  and  wrecking  your 
children's  lives.  And  what  have  you  got  to  show  for  it? 
What  have  you  got  to  show  for  it?  God  pity  you  for  all 
you  got  to  show  for  selling  your  soul  to  the  devil.  You  are  a 
fool.    You  are  a  fool.    Take  it  from  "Bill,"  you  are  a  fool. 

Don't  you  go,  my  boy;  don't  you  laugh  at  that  smutty 
story  with  a  double  meaning.  Don't  go  with  that  gang. 
But  you  say  to  me,  "Mr.  Sunday,  you  are  unduly  excited 
for  my  welfare.  I  know  you  smell  liquor  on  my  breath, 
but  I  never  expect  to  become  a  drunkard.  I  never  expect 
to  become  an  outcast."  Well,  you  are  a  fool.  You  are  a 
fool.  No  man  ever  intended  to  become  a  drunkard.  Every 
drunkard  started  out  to  be  simply  a  moderate  drinker. 
The  fellow  that  tells  me  that  he  can  leave  it  alone  when  he 
wants  to  lies.  It  is  a  lie.  If  you  can,  why  don't  you  leave 
it  alone?  You  will  never  let  it  alone.  If  you  could,  you 
would.  My  boy,  hear  me,  I  have  walked  along  the  shores 
of  time  and  have  seen  them  strewn  with  the  wrecks  of  those 
who  have  drifted  in  from  the  seas  of  lust  and  passion  and  are 
fit  only  for  danger  signals  to  warn  the  coming  race.  You 
can't  leave  it  alone  or  if  you  can,  the  time  will  come  when  it 
will  get  you.     Take  it  from  me. 

My  mother  told  me  never  to  buy  calico  by  lampUght, 
because  you  can't  tell  whether  the  colors  will  stand  or  run 
in  the  wash.  Never  ask  a  girl  to  be  your  wife  when  she's 
got  her  best  bib  and  tucker  on.  Call  on  her  and  leave  at 
ten  o'clock  and  leave  your  glove  on  the  piano,  and  go  back 
the  next  morning  about  nine  o'clock  after  your  glove  and 
ring  the  doorbell,  and  if  she  comes  to  the  door  with  her  hair 
done  up  in  curl  papers  and  a  slipper  on  one  foot  and  a  shoe 
on  the  other  foot,  and  that  imtied,  and  a  Mother  Hubbard 
on,  take  to  the  woods  as  fast  as  you  can  go.  Never  mind 
the  glove,  let  the  old  man  have  that  if  he  can  wear  it.  But 
if  she  comes  to  the  door  nice  and  neat  in  a  neat  working 


A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS  213 

house  dress,  with  her  sleeves  rolled  up  and  her  hair  neatly 
done  up,  and  a  ribbon  or  a  flower  stuck  in  it,  grab  her  quick. 

Henry  Clay  Trumbull  told  me  years  ago  that  he  was  in 
Europe  and  in  London  he  went  to  a  theater  to  see  a  man  who 
was  going  to  give  an  exhibition  of  wild  animals  and  serpents. 
He  had  a  royal  Bengal  tiger  and  a  Numidian  Hon,  and  he 
introduced  a  beast  that  seems  to  be  least  able  of  being  tamed 
either  by  kindness  or  brutality,  a  black  panther.  He  made 
him  go  through  the  various  motions,  and  after  a  while  a 
wire  screen  was  put  down  in  front  of  the  stage  between  the 
audience  and  the  performer,  and  to  the  weird  strains  of  an 
oriental  band  the  man  approached  from  the  left  of  the  stage 
and  a  serpent  from  the  right.  The  eyes  of  the  serpent  and 
the  man  met  and  the  serpent  quailed  before  the  man.  Man 
was  master  there.  At  his  command  the  serpent  went  through 
various  contortions,  and  the  man  stepped  to  the  front  of 
the  stage  and  the  serpent  wound  himself  round  and  roimd 
and  round  the  man,  until  the  man  and  serpent  seemed  as 
one.  His  tongue  shot  out,  his  eyes  dilated.  The  man  gave 
a  call,  but  the  audience  thought  that  part  of  the  performance, 
and  that  horrified  audience  sat  there  and  heard  bone  after 
bone  in  that  man's  body  crack  and  break  as  the  reptile 
tightened  its  grasp  upon  his  body,  and  saw  his  body  crushed 
before  he  could  be  saved. 

He  had  bought  that  snake  when  it  was  only  four  feet 
long  and  he  had  watered  and  nursed  it  until  it  was  thirty- 
five  feet.  At  first  he  could  have  killed  it;  at  last  it  killed 
him. 

Nursing  Bad  Habits 

Are  you  nursing  a  habit  today?  Is  it  drink?  Are  you 
nursing  and  feeding  that  which  will  wreck  your  life  and  wreck 
you  upon  the  shores  of  passion,  notwithstanding  all  the 
wrecks  you  have  seen  of  those  who  have  gone  down  the  line? 

I  never  got  such  a  good  idea  of  leprosy  as  I  did  by 
reading  that  wonderful  book  of  the  nineteenth  century  by 
Greneral  Lew  Wallace,  "Ben  Hur."     You  remember  the 


2U  A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS 

banishment  of  Ben  Hur  and  the  disintegration  of  that  family 
life  and  estate,  and  the  return  of  Ben  Hur  from  his  exile. 
He  goes  past  his  old  home.  The  blinds  are  closed  and  drawn 
and  all  is  deserted.  He  lies  down  upon  the  door-step  and 
falls  asleep.  His  mother  and  sister  have  been  in  the  leper 
colony  and  are  dying  of  leprosy  and  only  waiting  the  time 
when  they  will  be  covered  with  the  remains  of  others  who 
have  come  there.  So  they  have  come  to  the  city  to  get 
bread  and  secure  water,  and  they  see  their  son  and  brother 
lying  on  the  door-step  of  their  old  home.  They  dare  not 
awaken  him  for  fear  anguish  at  learning  of  their  fate  would  be 
more  than  he  could  bear.  They  dare  not  touch  him  because 
it  is  against  the  law,  so  they  creep  close  to  him  and  put  their 
leprous  lips  against  his  sandal-covered  feet.  They  then 
go  back  again  with  the  bread  and  water  for  which  they  had 
come. 

Presently  Ben  Hur  awakens  and  rubs  his  eyes  and  sees 
great  excitement.  (This  part  of  the  story  is  mine.)  Along 
comes  a  blear-eyed,  old,  whisky-soaked  degenerate  and  Ben 
Hur  asks  him  what  is  the  trouble,  what  is  the  excitement 
about,  and  he  says:  ''A  couple  of  lepers  have  been  cleansed, 
but  there  is  nothing  to  that,  just  some  occult  power,  it's  all 
a  fake."  Ben  Hur  goes  farther  on  and  hears  about  this  won- 
der, and  they  say  it  is  nothing;  nothing,  some  long-haired 
evangeUst  who  says  his  name  is  Jesus  Christ;  it's  all  a  fake. 
Then  Ben  Hur  goes  farther  and  discovers  that  it  is  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  and  that  he  has  cleansed  Ben  Hur's  own  mother 
and  sister.  He  hears  the  story  and  acknowledges  the 
Nazarene. 

The  Leprosy  of  Sin 

The  lepers  had  to  cry,  "Unclean!  Unclean!"  in  those 
days  to  warn  the  people.  They  were  compelled  by  law  to  do 
that:  also  they  were  compelled  by  law  to  go  on  the  side  of 
the  street  toward  which  the  wind  was  blowing  lest  the  breeze 
bring  the  germs  of  their  body  to  the  clean  and  infect  them 
with  the  disease.    And  the  victim  of  this  disease  was  com- 


A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS     .     215 

pelled  to  live  in  a  lonely  part  of  the  city,  waiting  until  his 
teeth  began  to  drop  out,  his  eyes  to  drop  from  their  sockets, 
and  his  fingers  to  drop  from  his  hands,  then  he  was  compelled 
to  go  out  in  the  tombs,  the  dying  among  the  dead,  there  to 
live  until  at  last  he  was  gathered  to  the  remains  of  the  dead. 
That  was  the  law  that  governed  the  leper  in  those  days.  All 
others  shrank  from  him;  he  went  forth  alone.  Alone!  No 
man  of  all  he  loved  or  knew,  was  with  him;  he  went  forth  on 
his  way,  alone,  sick  at  heart,  to  die  alone. 

Leprosy  is  infectious.  And  so  is  sin.  Sin  begins  in 
so-called  innocent  flirtation.  The  old,  god-forsaken  scoun- 
drel of  a  libertine,  who  looks  upon  every  woman  as  legitimate 
prey  for  his  lust,  will  contaminate  a  community;  one  drunk- 
ard, staggering  and  maundering  and  muttering  his  way  down 
to  perdition,  will  debauch  a  town. 

Some  men  ought  to  be  hurled  out  of  society;  they  ought 
to  be  kicked  out  of  lodges;  they  ought  to  be  kicked  out  of 
churches,  and  out  of  politics,  and  every  other  place  where 
decent  men  live  or  associate.  And  I  want  to  lift  the 
burden  tonight  from  the  heads  of  the  unoffending  woman- 
hood and  hurl  it  on  the  heads  of  offending  manhood. 

Rid  the  world  of  those  despicable  beasts  who  live  off 
the  earnings  of  the  unfortunate  girl  who  is  merchandising 
herself  for  gain.  In  some  sections  they  make  a  business  of 
it.  I  say  commercialized  vice  is  hell.  I  do  not  beheve  any 
more  in  a  segregated  district  for  immoral  women  than  I 
would  in  having  a  section  for  thieves  to  live  in  where  you 
could  hire  one  any  day  or  night  in  the  week  to  steal  for  you. 
There  are  two  things  which  have  got  to  be  driven  out  or 
they'll  drive  us  out,  and  they  are  open  licensed  saloons  and 
protected  vice. 

Society  needs  a  new  division  of  anathemas.  You  hurl 
the  burden  on  the  head  of  the  girl;  and  the  double-dyed 
scoundrel  that  caused  her  ruin  is  received  in  society  with 
open  arms,  while  the  girl  is  left  to  hang  her  head  and  spend 
her  life  in  shame.  Some  men  are  so  rotten  and  vile  that  they 
ought  to  be  disinfected  and  take  a  bath  in  carbolic  acid  and 


216          A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS 

formaldehyde.  Shut  the  lodge  door  in  the  face  of  every  man 
that  you  know  to  be  a  moral  leper;  don't  let  him  hide 
behind  his  uniform  and  his  badge  when  you  know  him  to  be 
so  rotten  that  the  devil  would  duck  up  an  alley  rather  than 
meet  him  face  to  face.  Kick  him  out  of  church.  Kick  Imn 
out  of  society. 

You  don't  live  your  life  alone.  Your  hfe  affects  others. 
Some  girls  will  walk  the  streets  and  pick  up  every  Tom, 
Dick  and  Harry  that  will  come  across  with  the  price  of  an 
ice-cream  soda  or  a  joy  ride. 

So  with  the  boy.  He  will  sit  at  your  table  and  drink 
beer,  and  I  want  to  tell  you  if  you  are  low-down  enough  to 
serve  beer  and  wine  in  your  home,  when  you  serve  it  you  are 
as  low  down  as  the  saloon-keeper,  and  I  don't  care  whether 
you  do  it  for  society  or  for  anything  else.  If  you  serve 
Uquor  or  drink  you  are  as  low  down  as  the  saloon-keeper  in 
my  opinion.  So  the  boy  who  had  not  grit  enou^  to  turn 
down  his  glass  at  the  banquet  and  refuse  to  drink  is  now  a 
blear-eyed,  staggering  drunkard,  reeling  to  hell.  He  couldn't 
stand  the  sneers  of  the  crowd.  Many  a  fellow  started  out 
to  play  cards  for  beans,  and  tonight  he  would  stake  his  soul 
for  a  show-down.  The  hole  m  the  gambling  table  is  not  very 
big;  it  is  about  big  enough  to  shove  a  dollar  through ;  but 
it  is  big  enough  to  shove  your  wife  through;  big  enough  to 
shove  your  happiness  through;  your  home  through;  your 
salary,  your  character;  just  big  enough  to  shove  every- 
thing  that  is  dear  to  you  in  this  world  through. 

Listen  to  me.  Bad  as  it  is  to  be  afficted  with  physical 
leprosy,  moral  leprosy  is  ten  thousand  times  worse.  I  don't 
care  if  you  are  the  richest  man  in  the  town,  the  biggest  tax- 
payer in  the  county,  the  biggest  politician  in  the  district, 
or  in  the  state.  I  don't  care  a  rap  if  you  carry  the  political 
vote  of  Pennsylvania  in  your  vest  pocket,  and  if  you  can 
change  the  vote  from  Democratic  to  Repubhcan  in  the 
convention — ^if  after  yom*  worldly  career  is  closed  my  text 
would  make  you  a  fitting  epitaph  for  your  tombstone  and 
obituary  notice  in  the  papers,  then  what  difference  would  it 


A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS  217 

make  what  you  had  done — "he  was  a  leper."  He  was 
a  great  politician — ^but  "He  was  a  leper."  What  difference 
would  it  make? 

I'll  tell  you,  I  was  never  more  interested  in  my  life  than 
in  reading  the  story  of  an  old  Confederate  colonel  who  was  a 
stickler  for  martial  discipline.  One  day  he  had  a  trifling  case 
of  insubordination.  He  ordered  his  men  to  halt,  and  he  had 
the  offender  shot.  They  dug  the  grave  and  he  gave  the 
command  to  march,  and  they  had  stopped  just  three  minutes 
by  the  clock.  At  the  close  of  the  war  they  made  him  chief 
of  poHce  of  a  Southern  city,  and  he  was  so  vile  and  corrupt 
that  the  people  arose  and  ordered  his  dismissal.  Then  a 
great  earthquake  swept  over  the  city,  and  the  people  rushed 
from  their  homes  and  thousands  of  people  crowded  the 
streets  and  there  was  great  excitement.  Some  asked, 
"Where  is  the  colonel?"  and  they  said,  "You  will  JBnd  him 
in  one  of  two  or  three  places."  So  they  searched  and  found 
him  in  a  den  of  infamy.  He  was  so  drunk  that  he  didn't 
reahze  the  danger  he  waK*  in.  They  led  him  out,  then  put 
him  upon  a  snow  white-horse,  put  his  spurs  on  his  boots 
and  his  regimentals  on;  they  pinned  a  star  on  his  breast 
and  put  a  cockade  on  his  hat,  and  said  to  him:  "Colonel,  we 
command  you  as  mayor  of  the  city  to  quell  this  riot.  You 
have  supreme  authority." 

He  rode  out  among  the  people  to  quell  the  riot,  dug  his 
spurs  into  the  white  side  of  the  horse  and  the  crimson  flowed 
out,  and  he  rode  in  and  out  among  the  surging  mass  of 
humanity. 

He  rode  out  among  the  people  with  conmiands  here,  tor- 
rents of  obscenity  there,  and  in  twenty-five  minutes  the  still- 
ness of  death  reigned  in  city  squares,  so  marvelously  did  they 
fear  him,  so  wonderful  was  his  power  oyer  men.  He  then 
rode  out,  dismounted,  took  off  his  cockade,  tore  the  star 
from  his  breast  and  threw  it  down,  threw  off  his  regimentals, 
took  off  his  sword ;  then  he  staggered  back  to  the  house  of 
infamy,  where  three  months  later  he  died,  away  from 
his  wife,  away  from  virtue,  away  from  moraUty,  his  name 


218  A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS 

synonymous  with  all  that  is  vile.  What  difference  did  it 
make  that  he  had  power  over  men  when  you  might  sum  up 
his  life  in  the  words,  "  But  he  was  a  leper."  What  difference 
did  it  make? 

I  pity  the  boy  or  girl  from  the  depths  of  my  soul,  who  if 
you  ask  are  you  willing  to  be  a  Christian,  will  answer: 
"Mr.  Sunday,  I  would  hke  to  be,  but  if  I  tell  that  at  home  my 
brothers  will  abuse  me,  my  mother  will  sneer  at  me,  my  father 
will  curse  me.  If  I  were,  I  would  have  no  encom-agement 
to  stand  and  fight  the  battle."  I  pity  from  the  depths  of 
my  soul  that  boy  or  girl,  the  boy  who  has  a  father  like  that; 
the  girl  that  has  a  mother  like  that,  who  have  a  joint  like 
that  for  a  home. 

Unclean!  Suppose  every  young  man  who  is  a  moral 
leper  were  impelled  by  some  uncontrollable  impulse  over 
which  he  had  no  power  to  make  public  revelations  of  his 
sins!  Down  the  street  he  comes  in  his  auto  and  you  speak 
to  him  from  the  curbstone  and  he  will  say:  "Unclean! 
Unclean!"  Yonder  he  comes  walking  down  the  street. 
Suppose  that  to  every  man  and  woman  he  meets  he  is  im- 
pelled and  compelled  to  make  revelation  of  the  fact  that  he 
is  a  leper. 

Leprosy  is  an  infectious  disease;  it  is  the  germ  of  sin. 
If  there  is  an  evil  in  you  the  evil  will  dwell  in  others.  When 
we  do  wrong  we  inspire  others — and  your  Uves  scatter  dis- 
ease when  you  come  in  contact  with  others.  If  there  is  sin 
in  the  father  there  will  be  sin  in  the  boy;  if  there  is  sin  in  the 
mother,  there  will  be  sin  in  the  daughter;  if  there  is  sin  in 
the  sister,  there  will  be  sin  in  the  brother;  by  your  influence 
you  will  spread  it.  If  you  hve  the  wrong  way  you  will  drag 
somebody  else  to  perdition  with  you  as  you  go,  and  kindred 
ties  will  facihtate  it. 

Supposing  all  your  hearts  were  open.  Supposing  we 
had  glass  doors  to  our  hearts,  and  we  could  walk  down  the 
street  and  look  in  and  see  where  you  have  been,  and  with 
whom  you  have  been  and  what  you  have  been  doing.  A 
good  many  of  you  would  want  stained-glass  windows  and 
heavy  tapestry  to  cover  them. 


.^  CLEAN  MAN  ON   SOCIAL  SINS  219 

"  But  the  Lord  Looketh  on  the  Heart " 

Suppose  I  could  put  a  screen  behind  me,  pull  a  string 
or  push  a  button,  and  produce  on  that  screen  a  view  of  the 
hearts  of  the  people.  I  would  say:  "Here  is  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
A's  life,  as  it  is,  and  here,  as  the  people  think  it  is.  Here  is 
what  he  really  is.  Here  is  where  he  has  been.  Here  is  how 
much  booze  he  drinks.  Heie  is  how  much  he  lost  last  year 
at  horse  races."  But  these  are  the  things  that  society  does 
not  take  note  of.  Society  takes  no  note  of  the  flirtation  on 
the  street.  It  waits  until  the  girl  has  lost  her  virtue  and  then 
it  slams  the  door  in  her  face.  It  takes  no  note  of  that  young 
man  drinking  at  a  banquet  table;  it  waits  until  he  becomes 
a  bleary-eyed  drunkard  and  then  it  will  slam  the  door  in  his 
face.  It  will  take  no  note  of  the  young  fellow  that  plays 
cards  for  a  prize;  it  waits  until  he  becomes  a  blackleg 
gambler  and  then  it  slams  the  door  in  his  face. 

God  says,  ''Lookout  in  the  beginning  for  that  thing." 
Society  takes  no  note  of  the  beginning.  It  waits  imtil  it 
becomes  vice,  and  then  it  organizes  Civic  Righteousness 
clubs.  Get  back  to  the  beginning  and  do  your  work  there. 
God  has  planned  to  save  this  world  through  the  preaching 
of  men  and  women,  and  God  reaches  down  to  save  men;  he 
pulls  them  out  of  the  grog  shops  and  puts  them  on  the 
water  wagon. 

I  never  could  imagine  an  angel  coming  down  from  heaven 
and  preaching  to  men  and  women  to  save  them.  God  never 
planned  to  save  this  world  with  the  preaching  of  angels. 
When  Jesus  Christ  died  on  the  cross  he  died  to  redeem  those 
whose  nature  he  took.  An  angel  wouldn't  know  what  he 
was  up  against.  Some  one  would  say:  "Good  Angel, 
were  you  ever  drunk?  "  "  No ! "  "  Good  Angel,  did  you  ever 
swear?"  ''Oh,  no!"  "Good  Angel,  did  you  ever  try  to 
put  up  a  stove-pipe  in  the  fall?"  "Oh,  no!"  "Did  you 
ever  stub  your  toe  while  walking  the  floor  with  the  baby  at 
three  A.  M?"     "Oh,  no!" 

'  Well,  then,  Mr.  Angel,  you  don't  know.  You  say  there 
is  great  mercy  with  God,  but  you  are  not  tempted." 


220  A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS 

No.  God  planned  to  save  the  world  by  saving  men  and 
women  and  letting  them  tell  the  story. 

The  servant  of  Naaman  entered  the  hut  of  the  prophet 
Elisha  and  found  him  sitting  on  a  high  stool  writing  with  a 
quill  pen  on  papyrus.  The  servant  bowed  low  and  said, 
"The  great  and  mighty  Naaman,  captain  of  the  hosts  of 
the  king  of  Syria,  awaits  thee.  Unfortunately  he  is  a  leper 
and  cannot  enter  your  august  presence.  He  has  heard  of  the 
miraculous  cures  that  you  have  wrought  and  he  hopes  to 
become  the  recipient  of  your  power."  The  old  prophet 
of  God  replied: 

"Tell  him  to  dip  seven  times  in  the  Jordan — beat  it, 
beat  it,  beat  it."  The  servant  came  out  to  Naaman,  who 
was  sitting  on  his  horse. 

"Well,  is  he  at  home?" 

"He's  at  home,  but  he  is  a  queer  duck." 

Naaman  thought  that  EHsha  would  come  out  and 
pat  the  sores  and  say  incantations,  like  an  Indian  medicine 
man.  Naaman  was  wroth,  like  many  a  fool  today.  God 
reveals  to  the  sinner  the  plan  of  salvation  and,  instead  of 
thanking  God  for  salvation  and  doing  what  God  wants  him 
to  do,  he  condemns  God  and  everybody  else  for  bothering 
him. 

Now  here  is  a  man  who  wants  to  be  a  Christian.  What 
will  he  do?  Will  he  go  ask  some  old  saloon-keeper?  Will 
he  go  ask  some  of  these  old  brewers?  Will  he  ask  some  of 
the  fellows  of  the  town?  Will  he  ask  the  County  Liquor 
Dealers'  Association?  Where  will  he  go?  To  the  preacher, 
of  course.  He  is  the  man  to  go  to  when  you  want  to  be  a 
Christian.  Go  to  a  doctor  when  you  are  sick,  to  a  black- 
smith when  your  horse  is  to  be  shod,  but  go  to  the  preacher 
when  you  want  your  heart  set  right. 

So  Naaman  goes  into  the  muddy  water  and  the  water 
begins  to  lubricate  those  old  sores,  and  it  begins  to  itch,  and 
he  says,  "Gee  whizz,"  like  many  a  young  fellow  today  who 
goes  to  a  church  and  just  gets  religion  enough  to  make  him 
feel  miserable.    An  old  fellow  in  Iowa  came  to  me  and  said, 


A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS  221 

"Bill,  I  have  been  to  hear  you  every  night  and  you  have 
done  me  a  lot  of  good.  I  used  to  cuss  my  old  woman  every 
day  and  I  ain't  cussed  her  for  a  week.  I'm  getting  a  little 
better." 

The  Joy  of  Religion 

The  trouble  with  many  men  is  that  they  have  got  just 
enough  religion  to  make  them  miserable.  If  there  is  no  joy 
in  religion,  you  have  got  a  leak  in  your  reKgion.  Some 
haven't  religion  enough  to  pay  their  debts.  Would  that  I 
might  have  a  hook  and  for  every  debt  that  you  left  unpaid 
I  might  jerk  off  a  piece  of  clothing.  If  I  did  some  of  you 
fellows  would  have  not  anything  on  but  a  celluloid  collar 
and  a  pair  of  socks. 

Some  of  you  have  not  got  religion  enough  to  have 
family  prayer.  Some  of  you  people  haven't  got  rehgion 
enough  to  take  the  beer  bottles  out  of  your  cellar  and  throw 
them  in  the  alley.  You  haven't  got  religion  enough  to  tell 
that  proprietor  of  the  red  Hght,  "No,  you  can't  rent  my 
house  after  the  first  of  June;"  to  tell  the  saloon-keeper, 
"You  can't  rent  my  house  when  your  lease  runs  out";  and 
I  want  to  teU  you  that  the  man  that  rents  his  property  to  a 
saloon-keeper  is  as  low-down  as  the  saloon-keeper.  The 
trouble  with  you  is  that  you  are  so  taken  up  with  business, 
with  politics,  with  making  money,  with  your  lodges,  and  each 
and  every  one  is  so  dependent  on  the  other,  that  you  are 
scared  to  death  to  come  out  and  Uve  clean  cut  for  God  Al- 
mighty.   You  have  not  fully  surrendered  yourseK  to  God. 

The  matter  with  a  lot  of  you  people  is  that  your  religion 
is  not  complete.  You  have  not  yielded  yourself  to  God  and 
gone  out  for  God  and  God's  truth.  Why,  I  am  almost 
afraid  to  make  some  folks  laugh  for  fear  that  I  will  be 
arrested  for  breaking  a  costly  piece  of  antique  bric-^brac. 
You  would  think  that  if  some  people  laughed  it  would  break 
their  faces.  To  see  some  people  you  would  think  that  the 
essential  of  orthodox  Christianity  is  to  have  a  face  so  long 
you  could  eat  oatmeal  out  of  the  end  of  a  gas  pipe.    Sister, 


222         A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS 

that  is  not  religion;  I  want  to  tell  you  that  the  happy, 
smiling,  sunny-faced  religion  will  win  more  people  to  Jesus 
Christ  than  the  miserable  old  grim-faced  kind  will  in  ten 
years.  I  pity  anyone  who  can't  laugh.  There  must  be 
something  wrong  with  their  religion  or  their  liver.  The 
devil  can't  laugh. 

So  I  can  see  Naaman  as  he  goes  into  the  water  and  dips 
seven  times,  and  lo!  his  flesh  becomes  again  as  a  little  child's. 
When?    When  he  did  what  God  told  him  to  do. 

I  have  seen  men  come  down  the  aisle  by  the  thousands, 
men  who  have  drank  whisky  enough  to  sink  a  ship.  I  have 
seen  fallen  women  come  to  the  front  by  scores  and  hundreds, 
and  I  have  seen  them  go  away  cleansed  by  the  power  of  God. 
When?    When  they  did  just  what  God  told  them  to  do. 

I  wish  to  God  the  Church  were  as  afraid  of  imperfection 
as  it  is  of  perfection. 

I  saw  a  woman  that  for  twenty-seven  years  had  been 
proprietor  of  a  disorderly  house,  and  I  saw  her  come  down 
the  aisle,  close  her  doors,  turn  the  girls  out  of  her  house  and 
live  for  God.  I  saw  enough  converted  in  one  town  where 
there  were  four  disorderly  houses  to  close  their  doors;  they 
were  empty;  the  girls  had  all  fled  home  to  their  mothers. 

Out  in  Iowa  a  fellow  came  to  me  and  spread  a  napkin 
on  the  platform — a  napkin  as  big  as  a  tablecloth.  He  said: 
"I  want  a  lot  of  shavings  and  sawdust." 

"What  for?" 

"I'll  tell  you;  I  want  enough  to  make  a  sofa  pillow. 
Right  here  is  where  I  knelt  down  and  was  converted  and  my 
wife  and  four  children,  and  my  neighbors.  I  would  like  to 
have  enough  to  make  a  sofa  pillow  to  have  something  in  my 
home  to  help  me  think  of  God.  I  don't  want  to  forget  God, 
or  that  I  was  saved.    Can  you  give  me  enough?  " 

I  said,  "Yes,  indeed,  and  if  you  want  enough  to  make  a 
mattress,  all  right,  take  it;  and  if  you  want  enough  of  the 
tent  to  make  a  pair  of  breeches  for  each  of  the  boys,  why  take 
your  scissors  and  cut  it  right  out,  if  it  will  help  you  to  keep 
your  mind  on  God." 


A  CLEAN  MAN  ON   SOCIAL  SINS  223 

That  is  why  I  hke  to  have  people  come  down  to  the 
front  and  pubhcly  acknowledge  God.  I  like  to  have  a 
man  have  a  definite  experience  in  religion — something  to 
remember. 

A  PLAIN  TALK  TO  WOMEN 

And  I  say  to  you,  young  girl,  don't  go  with  that  godless, 
God-forsaken,  sneering  young  man  that  walks  the  streets 
smoking  cigarettes.  He  would  not  walk  the  streets  with 
you  if  you  smoked  cigarettes.  But  j'^ou  say  you  will  marry 
him  and  reform  him;  he  would  not  marry  you  to  reform  you. 
Don't  go  to  that  dance.  Don't  you  know  that  it  is  the  most 
damnable,  low-down  institution  on  the  face  of  God's  earth, 
that  it  causes  more  ruin  than  anything  this  side  of  hell? 
Don't  you  go  with  that  young  man;  don't  you  go  to  that 
dance.  That  is  why  we  have  so  many  whip-poor-wdll  widows 
around  the  country:  they  married  some  of  these  mutts  to 
reform  them,  and  instead  of  doing  that  the  undertaker  got 
them.  I  say,  young  girl,  don't  go  to  that  dance;  it  has  proven 
to  be  the  moral  graveyard  that  has  caused  more  ruination 
than  anything  that  was  ever  spewed  out  of  the  mouth  of 
hell.  Don't  go  with  that  young  fellow  for  a  joy  ride  at  mid- 
night. 

Girls,  when  some  young  fellow  comes  up  and  asks  you 
the  greatest  question  that  you  will  ever  be  asked  or  called 
upon  to  answer,  next  to  the  salvation  of  your  own  soul, 
what  will  you  say?  "Oh,  this  is  so  sudden!"  That  is  all 
a  bluff;  you  have  been  waiting  for  it  all  the  time. 

But,  girls,  never  mind  now,  get  down  to  facts.  When 
he  asks  you  the  greatest  question,  the  most  important  one 
that  any  girl  is  ever  asked,  next  to  the  salvation  of  her  soul, 
just  say,  ''Sit  down  and  let  me  ask  you  three  questions.  I 
want  to  ask  you  these  three  questions  and  if  I  am  satisfied 
with  your  answer,  it  will  determine  my  answer  to  your  ques- 
tion. 'Did  you  believe  me  to  be  virtuous  when  you  came 
here  to  ask  me  to  be  your  wife?"  "Oh,  yes,  I  believed  you  to 
be  virtuous.    That's  the  reason  I  came  here.    You  are  like 


224  A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS 

violets  dipped  in  dew."  The  second  question:  "Have  you 
as  a  young  man  lived  as  you  demand  of  me  as  a  girl  that  I 
should  have  lived?"  The  third  question:  "If  I,  as  a  girl, 
had  Hved  and  done  as  you,  as  a  young  man,  and  you  knew 
it,  would  you  ask  me  to  marry  you?" 

They  will  line  up  and  nine  times  out  of  ten  they  will 
take  the  count.  You  can  line  them  up,  and  I  know  what  I 
am  talking  about,  and  I  defy  any  man  on  God's  earth  suc- 
cessfully to  contradict  me.  I  have  the  goods.  The  average 
young  man  is  more  particular  about  the  company  he  keeps 
than  the  average  girl.  I'll  tell  you.  If  he  meets  somebody 
on  the  street  whom  he  doesn't  want  to  meet  he  will  duck  into 
the  first  open  doorway  and  avoid  the  publicity  of  meeting 
her,  for  fear  she  might  smile  or  give  an  indication  that  she 
had  seen  him  somewhere  and  sometime  before  that.  Yet 
our  so-called  best  girls  keep  company  with  young  men 
whose  character  would  make  a  black  mark  on  a  piece  of 
anthracite.  Their  characters  are  foul  and  rotten  and 
damnable. 

I  like  to  see  a  girl  who  has  a  good  head,  and  can  choose 
right  because  it  is  right,  never  minding  the  criticism.  Choose 
the  good  and  be  careful  of  good  company  and  good  conduct, 
and  keep  company  with  a  good  young  fellow.  Don't  go  with 
the  fellow  whose  reputation  is  bad.  Everybody  knows  it  is 
bad,  and  if  you  are  seen  with  him  you  will  lose  your  reputa- 
tion as  well,  although  your  virtue  is  intact;  and  they  might 
as  well  take  you  to  the  graveyard  and  bury  you,  when  your 
reputation  is  gone.  When  a  man  like  that  asks  you  to  go 
with  him,  say  to  him  that  if  he  will  live  the  way  you  want 
him  to  you  will  go  with  him.  If  he  would  take  a  stand  like 
that  there  wouldn't  be  so  many  wrecks.  If  our  women 
and  girls  would  take  higher  stands  and  say,  "No,  no,  we  will 
not  keep  company  with  you  unless  you  live  the  way  I  want 
you  to,"  there  would  be  better  men.  A  lot  of  you  women 
hold  yourselves  too  cheaply.  You  are  scared  to  death  for 
fear  you  will  be  what  the  world  irreverently  calls  "an  old 
maid." 


A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS  225 

Hospitality 

You  remember  the  prophet  Elisha  and  his  jom-ney 
to  the  school  of  prophets  up  to  Mount  Carmel.  There  was 
a  woman  who  noticed  the  actions  and  conduct  of  the  man  of 
God  and  she  said  to  her  husband,  ''Let  us  build  a  little  room 
and  place  therein  a  bed,  and  bowl  and  pitcher,  that  he  may 
make  it  his  home." 

The  suggestion  evidently  met  with  the  approval  of  the 
husband,  because  ever  afterward  the  man  of  God  enjoyed  this 
hospitality.  I  sometimes  thought  she  might  have  been  a 
new  woman  of  the  olden  times,  because  no  mention  is  made 
of  the  husband.  You  never  hear  of  some  old  lobsters 
unless  they  are  fortunate  enough  to  marry  a  woman  who  does 
things  and  their  name  is  always  mentioned  in  connection 
with  what  the  wife  does. 

You  know  there  are  homes  in  which  the  advent  of  onC; 
two  and  possibly  three  children  is  considered  a  curse  instead 
of  a  blessing.  God,  in  his  providence,  has  often  denied  the 
honor  of  maternity  to  some  women.  But  there  are  married 
women  who  shrink  from  maternity,  not  because  of  ill  health, 
but  simply  because  they  love  ease,  because  they  love  fine 
garments  and  ability  to  flirt  like  a  butterfly  at  some  social 
function. 

Crimes  have  been  and  are  being  committed ;  hands  are 
stained  with  blood;  and  that  very  crime  has  made  France 
the  charnel  house  of  the  world.  And  America,,  we  of  our 
boasted  intelligence  and  wealth,  we  are  fast  approaching 
the  same  doom,  until  or  unless  it  behooves  somebody  with 
grit  and  courage  to  preach  against  the  prevailing  sins  and 
run  the  risk  of  incurring  the  displeasiu*e  of  people  who  divert 
public  attention  from  their  own  vileness  rather  than  con- 
demn themselves  for  the  way  they  are  living.  They  say 
the  man  who  is  preaching  against  it  is  vulgar,  rather  than 
the  man  who  did  it. 

I  am  sure  there  is  not  an  angel  in  heaven  that  would  not 
be  glad  to  come  to  earth  and  be  honored  with  motherhood 
if  God  would  grant  her  that  privilege.    What  a  grand  thing 


226  A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS 

it  must  be,  at  the  end  of  your  earthly  career,  to  look  back 
upon  a  noble  and  godly  life,  knowing  you  did  all  you  could 
to  help  leave  this  old  world  to  God  and  made  your  contri- 
butions in  tears  and  in  prayers  and  taught  your  offspring 
to  be  God-fearing,  so  that  when  you  went  you  would  continue 
to  produce  your  noble  character  in  your  children. 

Maternity  Out  of  Fashion 

Society  has  just  about  put  maternity  out  of  fashion. 
When  you  stop  to  consider  the  average 
society  woman  I  do  not  think  maternity 
has  lost  anything.  The  humbler  children 
are  raised  by  their  mothers  instead  of  being 
turned  over  to  a  governess. 

There  are  too  many  girls  who  marry 
for  other  causes  than  love.  I  think  am- 
bition, indulgence  and  laziness  lead  more 
girls  to  the  altar  than  love — girls  not 
actuated  by  love,  but  simply  willing  to  pay 
the  price  of  wifehood  to  wear  fine  clothes. 
They  are  not  moved  by  the  noble  desires 
of  manhood  or  womanhood. 

Some  girls  marry  for  novelty  and  some 
girls  marry  for  a  home.  Some  fool  mothers 
encoiu-age  girls  to  marry  for  ease  so  they 
"  Society  Has  Just  can  go  to  the  matinee  and  buzz  around. 
About  Put  Ma-    gome  fool  girls  marry  for  money  and  some 

TEHNiTT  Out  op  .  ,  ®    ,  .    ,         1  1 

Fashion"  girls  marry  for  society,  because  by  con- 
necting their  name  with  a  certain  family's 
they  go  up  a  rung  in  the  social  ladder,  and  some  girls  marry 
young  bucks  to  reform  them — ^and  they  are  the  biggest  fools 
in  the  bunch,  because  the  bucks  would  not  marry  the  girls 
to  reform  them. 

You  mothers  are  worse  fools  to  encourage  your  daughter 
to  marry  some  old  lobster  because  his  father  has  money  and 
when  he  dies,  maybe  your  daughter  can  have  good  clothes 
and  ride  in  an  auto  instead  of  hoofing  it.    Look  at  the 


A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS  227 

girls  on  the  auction  block  today.  Look  at  the  awful  battle 
the  average  stenographer  and  average  clerk  has  to  fight. 
You  cannot  work  for  six  dollars  a  week  and  wear  fine  duds 
and  be  on  the  square  as  much  as  you  are  without  having  the 
people  suspicious. 

In  a  letter  to  Miss  Borson,  President  Roosevelt  said: 
"The  man  or  woman  who  avoids  marriage  and  has  a  heart 
so  cold  as  to  know  no  passion  and  a  brain  so  shallow  as  to 
dislike  having  children  is,  in  fact,  a  criminal." 

Is  it  well  with  thee?  Is  it  well  with  your  husband? 
"The  best  man  in  the  world,"  you  answer.  Very  well; 
is  it  well  with  the  child?  I  think  its  responsibilities  are  equal, 
if  they  don't  outweigh  its  privileges,  and  when  God  is  in 
the  heart  of  the  child,  I  don't  wonder  that  that  home  is  a 
haven  of  peace  and  rest. 

I  have  no  motive  in  preaching  except  the  interest  I  have 
in  the  moral  welfare  of  the  people.  There  is  not  money 
enough  to  hire  me  to  preach.  I  tell  you,  ladies,  we  have  to 
do  something  more  than  wipe  our  eyes,  and  blow  our  nose, 
and  say  "Come  to  Jesus."  Go  out  and  shell  the  woods  and 
make  them  let  you  know  why  they  don't  "come  to  Jesus." 

I  believe  the  time  will  come  when  sex  hygiene  will  form 
part  of  the  2iigh-school  curriculum.  I  would  rather  have 
my  children  taught  sex  hygiene  than  Greek  and  Latin.  A 
lot  of  the  high-school  curriculum  is  mere  fad.  I  think  the 
time  will  come  when  our  girls  will  be  taught  in  classes  with 
some  graduated  woman  physician  for  an  instructor. 

Women  live  on  a  higher  plane,  morally,  than  men.  No 
woman  was  ever  ruined  that  some  brute  of  a  man  did  not 
take  the  initiative.  Women  have  kept  themselves  purer  than 
men.  I  believe  a  good  woman  is  the  best  thing  this  side  of 
heaven  and  a  bad  woman  the  worst  thing  this  side  of  hell. 
I  think  woman  rises  higher  and  sinks  lower  than  man.  I 
think  she  is  the  most  degraded  on  earth  or  the  purest  on 
earth. 

Our  homes  are  on  the  level  with  women.  Towns  are 
on  the  level  with  homes.     What  women  are  our  homes  will 


228         A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS 

be;  and  what  the  town  is,  the  men  will  be,  so  you  hold  the 
destiny  of  the  nation. 

I  believe  there  is  something  unfinished  in  the  make-up 
of  a  girl  who  does  not  have  religion.  The  average  girl  today 
no  longer  looks  forward  to  motherhood  as  the  crowning 
glory  of  womanhood.  She  is  turning  her  home  into  a  gam- 
bling shop  and  a  social  beer-and-champagne-drinking  joint, 
and  her  society  is  made  up  of  poker  players,  champagne,  wine 
and  beer  drinkers,  grass-widowers  and  jilted  jades  and  slan- 
der-mongers— that  comprises  the  society  of  many  a  girl 
today.     She  is  becoming  a  matinee-gadder  and  fudge-eater. 

The  Girl  Who  Flirts 

I  wish  I  could  make  a  girl  that  flirts  see  herself  as  others 
see  her.  If  you  make  eyes  at  a  man  on  the  street  he  will 
pay  you  back.  It  doesn't  mean  that  you  are  pretty.  It 
means  that  if  you  don't  care  any  more  for  yourseK  than  that 
why  should  he?  The  average  man  will  take  a  girl  at  her 
personal  estimate  of  herself. 

It  takes  a  whole  lot  of  nerve  for  a  fellow  to  look  a  girl 
in  the  face  and  say,  "Will  you  be  my  wife  and  partner,  and 
help  me  fight  the  battle  during  life?"  but  I  think  it  means  a 
whole  lot  more  to  the  girl  who  has  to  answer  and  fight  that 
question.  But  the  fool  girl  loafs  around  and  waits  to  be 
chosen  and  takes  the  first  chance  she  gets  and  seems  to  think 
that  if  they  get  made  one,  the  laws  of  man  can  make  them 
two  again. 

The  divorce  laws  are  damnable.  America  is  first  in 
many  things  that  I  love,  but  there  are  many  things  that  are 
a  disgrace.  We  lead  the  world  in  crime;  and  lead  the 
world  in  divorce — we  who  boast  of  our  culture. 

Many  a  girl  has  found  out  after  she  is  married  that  it 
would  have  been  a  good  deal  easier  to  die  an  old  maid  than 
to  have  said  *'yes,"  and  become  the  wife  of  some  cigarette- 
smoking,  cursing,  damnable  Ubertine.  They  will  launch 
the  matrimonial  boat  and  put  the  oars  in  and  try  it  once  for 
luck,  anyway,  and  so  we  have  many  women  praying  ^or  un- 
converted husbands. 


A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS  229 

I  preached  like  this  in  a  town  once  and  the  next  day  I 
heard  of  about  five  engagements  that  were  broken.  I  can 
give  you  advice  now,  but  if  the  knot  is  tied,  the  thing  is  done. 

I  am  a  Roman  Catholic  on  divorce.  There  are  a  whole 
lot  of  things  worse  than  living  and  dying  an  old  maid  and 
one  of  them  is  marrying  the  wrong  man.  So  don't  be  one  to 
do  that. 

Now,  girls,  don't  simper  and  look  silly  when  you  speak 
about  love.  There  is  nothing  silly  about  it,  although  some 
folks  are  silly  because  they  are  in  love.  Love  is  the  noblest 
and  purest  gift  of  God  to  man  and  womankind.  Don't  let 
your  actions  advertise  "Man  Wanted,  Quick."  That  is 
about  the  surest  way  not  to  get  a  man.  You  might  get  a 
thing  with  breeches  on,  but  he  is  no  man 

Many  a  woman  is  an  old  maid  because  she  wanted  to  do 
her  share  of  the  com-ting.  Don't  get  excited  and  want  to 
hurry  things  along.  If  a  man  begins  to  act  as  though  he  is 
after  you,  the  surest  way  to  get  him  is  just  to  make  him  feel 
you  don't  want  him,  unless  you  drive  him  off  by  appearing 
too  indifferent.  • 

And,  girls,  don't  worry  if  you  think  you  are  not  going 
to  get  a  chance  to  marry.  Some  of  the  noblest  men  in  the 
world  have  been  bachelors  and  some  of  the  noblest  women 
old  maids.  And,  woman,  for  God's  sake,  when  you  do  get 
married,  don't  transfer  the  love  God  gave  you  to  bestow  on 
a  little  child  to  a  Spitz  dog  or  a  brindle  pup. 

The  Task  of  Womanhood 

All  great  women  are  satisfied  with  their  common  sphere 
in  life  and  think  it  is  enough  to  fill  the  lot  God  gave  them 
in  this  world  as  wife  and  mother.  I  tell  you  the  devil  and 
women  can  damn  this  world,  and  Jesus  and  women  can  save 
this  old  world.  It  remains  with  womanhood  today  to  lift 
our  social  life  to  a  higher  plane. 

Mothers,  be  more  careful  of  your  boys  and  girls.  Ex- 
plain these  evils  that  contaminate  our  social  life  today.  I 
have  had  women  say  to  me,  "Mr.  Sunday,  don't  you  think 


230  A  CLEAN  MAN  ON  SOCIAL  SINS 

there  is  danger  of  talking  too  much  to  them  when  they  are 
so  young?  "  Not  much;  just  as  soon  as  a  girl  is  able  to  know 
the  pure  from  the  impure  she  should  be  taught.  Oh,  mothers, 
mothers,  you  don't  know  what  your  girl  is  being  led  to  by 
this  false  and  mock  modesty. 

Don't  teach  your  girls  that  the  only  thing  in  the  world 
is  to  marry.  Why,  some  girls  marry  infidels  because  they 
were  not  taught  to  say  "I  would  not  do  it."  A  girl  is  a  big 
fool  to  marry  an  infidel.  God  says,  "Be  ye  not  unequally 
yoked  with  unbelievers." 

I  believe  there  is  a  race  yet  to  appear  which  will  be  as 
far  superior  in  morals  to  us  as  we  are  superior  to  the  morals 
in  the  days  of  Juhus  Caesar;  but  that  race  will  never  appear 
until  God-fearing  young  men  marry  God-fearing  girls  and 
the  offspring  are  God-fearing. 

Cultiu-e  will  never  save  the  world.  If  these  miserable 
human  vampires  who  feed  and  fatten  upon  the  virtue  of 
womanhood  can  get  off  with  impunity;  nay,  more,  be 
feasted  and  petted  and  coddled  by  society,  we  might  as  well 
back-pedal  out  and  sink  in  shame,  for  we  can  never  see  to 
the  heights  nor  conomand  the  respect  of  the  great  and  good. 

What  paved  the  way  for  the  downfall  of  the  mightiest 
dynasties — ^proud  and  haughty  Greece  and  imperial  Rome? 
The  downfall  of  their  womanhood.  The  virtue  of  womanhood 
is  the  rampart  wall  of  American  civihzation.  Break  that 
down  and  with  the  stones  thereof  you  can  pave  your  way  to 
the  hottest  hell,  and  reeking  vice  and  corruption. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
"Help  Those  Women" 

If  the  womanhood  of  America  had  been  no  better  than  its  manhood,  the 
devil  would  have  had  the  country  fenced  in  long  ago. — Billy  Sunday. 

THE  average  American  is  somewhat  of  a  sentimentaKst. 
"Home,  Sweet  Home,"  is  an  American  song.  No 
people,  except  possibly  the  Irish,  respond  more 
readily  to  the  note  of  "Mother"  than  the  Americans.  No 
other  nation  honors  womanhood  so  greatly.  We  are  really 
a  chivalrous  people. 

In  this  respect,  as  in  so  many  others,  Smiday  is  true 
to  type.  His  sermons  abound  with  passages  which  express 
the  best  American  sentiment  toward  womanhood.  It  is 
good  for  succeeding  generations  that  such  words  as  the 
following  should  be  uttered  in  the  ears  of  tens  and  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  yoimg  people,  and  reprinted  in  scores 
and  hundreds  of  newspapers. 

"  MOTHER »» 

The  story  of  Moses  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
fascinating  in  all  the  world.  It  takes  a  hold  on  us  and 
never  for  an  instant  does  it  lose  its  interest,  for  it  is  so 
graphically  told  that  once  heard  it  is  never  forgotten. 

I  have  often  imagined  the  anxiety  with  which  that 
child  was  bom,  for  he  came  into  the  world  with  the  sen- 
tence of  death  hanging  over  him,  for  Pharaoh  had  decreed 
that  the  male  children  should  die.  The  mother  defied  even 
the  command  of  the  king  and  determined  that  the  child 
should  live,  and  right  from  the  beginning  the  battle  of 
right  against  might  was  fought  at  the  cradle. 

Moses'  mother  was  a  slave.  She  had  to  work  in  the 
brickyards  or  labor  in  the  field,  but  God  was  on  her  side 
and  she  won,  as  the  mother  always  wins  with  God  on  her 

(231) 


232  "HELP. THOSE  WOMEN" 

side.  Before  going  to  work  she  had  to  choose  some  hiding 
place  for  her  child,  and  she  put  his  little  sister,  Miriam,  on 
guard  while  she  kept  herself  from  being  seen  by  the  soldiers 
of  Pharaoh,  who  were  seeking  everywhere  to  murder  the 
Jewish  male  children.  For  three  months  she  kept  him 
hidden,  possibly  finding  a  new  hiding  place  every  few  days. 
It  is  hard  to  imagine  anything  more  diflficult  than  to  hide 
a  healthy,  growing  baby,  and  he  was  hidden  for  three 
months.  Now  he  was  grown  larger  and  more  full  of  life 
and  a  more  secure  hiding  place  had  to  be  found,  and  I  can 
imagine  this  mother  giving  up  her  rest  and  sleep  to  prepare 
an  ark  for  the  saving  of  her  child. 

I  believe  the  plan  must  have  been  formulated  in 
heaven.  I  have  often  thought  God  must  have  been  as 
much  interested  in  that  work  as  was  the  mother  of  Moses, 
for  you  can't  make  me  beheve  that  an  event  so  important 
as  that,  and  so  far-reaching  in  its  results,  ever  happened  by 
luck  or  chance.  Possibly  God  whispered  the  plan  to  the 
mother  when  she  went  to  him  in  prayer  and  in  her  grief 
because  she  was  afraid  the  sword  of  Pharaoh  would  murder 
her  child.  And  how  carefully  the  material  out  of  which 
the  ark  was  made  had  to  be  selected!  I  think  every  twig 
was  carefully  scrutinized  in  order  that  nothing  poor  might 
get  into  its  composition,  and  the  weaving  of  that  ark,  the 
mother's  heart,  her  soul,  her  prayers,  her  tears,  were  inter- 
woven. 

Oh,  if  you  mothers  would  exercise  as  much  care  over 
the  company  your  children  keep,  over  the  books  they  read 
and  the  places  they  go,  there  would  not  be  so  many  girls 
feeding  the  red-light  district,  nor  so  many  boys  growing  up 
to  lead  criminal  lives.  And  with  what  thanksgiving  she 
must  have  poured  out  her  heart  when  at  last  the  work 
was  done  and  the  ark  was  ready  to  carry  its  precious  cargo, 
more  precious  than  if  it  was  to  hold  the  crown  jewels  of 
Eg5T)t.  And  I  can  imagine  the  last  night  that  baby  was 
in  the  home.  Probably  some  of  you  can  remember  when 
the  last  night  came  when  baby  was  aUve;  you  can  remem- 


"HELP  THOSE  WOMEN"  233 

ber  the  last  night  the  coflBn  stayed,  and  the  next  day  the 
pall-bearers  and  the  hearse  came.  The  others  may  have 
slept  soimdly,  but  there  was  no  sleep  for  you,  and  I  can 
imagine  there  was  no  sleep  for  Moses'  mother. 

"There  are  whips  and  tops  and  pieces  of  string 
And  shoes  that  no  little  feet  ever  wear; 
There  are  bits  of  ribbon  and  broken  wings 
And  tresses  of  golden  hair. 

'There  are  dainty  jackets  that  never  are  worn 

There  are  toys  and  models  of  ships; 
There  are  books  and  pictures  all  faded  and  torn 

And  marked  by  finger  tips 
0(  dimpled  hands  that  have  fallen  to  dust — 
Yet  we  strive  to  think  that  the  Lord  is  just. 

"Yet  a  feeling  of  bitterness  fills  our  soul; 

Sometimes  we  try  to  pray, 
That  the  Reaper  has  spared  so  maqy  flowers 

And  taken  ours  away. 
And  we  sometimes  doubt  if  the  Lord  can  know 
How  our  riven  hearts  did  love  them  so 

"But  we  think  of  our  dear  ones  dead, 

Our  children  who  never  grow  old, 
And  how  they  are  waiting  and  watching  for  us 

Li  the  city  with  streets  of  gold; 
And  how  they  are  safe  through  all  the  years 

From  sickness  and  want  and  war. 
We  thank  the  great  Grod,  with  falling  tears, 

For  the  things  in  the  cabinet  drawer." 

A  Mother's  Watchfulness 

Others  in  the  house  might  have  slept,  but  not  a 
moment  could  she  spare  of  the  precious  time  allotted  her 
with  her  Uttle  one,  and  all  through  the  night  she  must  have 
prayed  that  God  would  shield  and  protect  her  baby  and 
bless  the  work  she  had  done  and  the  step  she  was  about  to 
take. 

Some  people  often  say  to  me:  'T  wonder  what  the  angels 


234  "HELP  THOSE  WOMEN" 

do;  how  they  employ  their  tune?"  I  think  I  know  what 
some  of  them  did  that  night.  You  can  bet  they  were  not 
out  to  some  bridge-whist  party.  They  guarded  that  house 
so  carefully  that  not  a  soldier  of  old  Pharaoh  ever  crossed 
the  threshold.  They  saw  to  it  that  not  one  of  them  harmed 
that  baby. 

At  dawn  the  mother  must  have  kissed  him  good-bye, 
placed  him  in  the  ark  and  hid  him  among  the  reeds  and 
rushes,  and  with  an  aching  heart  and  tear-dimmed  eyes 
turned  back  again  to  the  field  and  back  to  the  brickyards  to 
labor  and  wait  to  see  what  God  would  do.  She  had  done 
her  prayerful  best,  and  when  you  have  done  that  you  can 
bank  on  God  to  give  the  needed  help.  If  we  only  believed 
that  with  God  all  things  are  possible  no  matter  how  improb- 
able, what  unexpected  answers  the  Lord  would  give  to  our 
prayers!  She  knew  God  would  help  her  some  way,  but 
I  don't  think  she  ever  dreamed  that  God  would  help  her  by 
sending  Pharaoh's  daughter  to  care  for  the  child.  It  was 
no  harder  for  God  to  send  the  princess  than  it  was  to  get 
the  mother  to  prepare  the  ark.  What  was  impossible  from 
her  standpoint  was  easy  for  God. 

Pharaoh's  daughter  came  down  to  the  water  to  bathe, 
and  the  ark  was  discovered,  just  as  God  wanted  it  to  be, 
and  one  of  her  maids  was  sent  to  fetch  it.  You  often  wonder 
what  the  angels  are  doing.  I  think  some  of  the  angels  herded 
the  crocodiles  on  the  other  side  of  the  Nile  to  keep  them  from 
finding  Moses  and  eating  him  up.  You  can  bank  on  it,  all 
heaven  was  interested  to  see  that  not  one  hair  of  that  baby's 
head  was  injured.  There  weren't  devils  enough  in  hell  to 
pull  one  hair  out  of  its  head.  The  ark  was  brought  and  with 
feminine  curiosity  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh  had  to  look  into 
it  to  see  what  was  there,  and  when  they  removed  the  cover, 
there  was  lying  a  strong,  healthy  baby  boy,  kicking  up  his 
heels  and  sucking  his  thumbs,  as  probably  most  of  us  did 
when  we  were  boys,  and  probably  as  you  did  when  you  were 
a  girl.  The  baby  looks  up  and  weeps,  and  those  tears  blotted 
out  all  that  wias  against  it  and  gave  it  a  chance  for  its  life. 


"HELP  THOSE  WOMEN"  23o 

I  don't  know,  but  I  think  an  angel  stood  there  and  pinched  it 
to  make  it  cry,  for  it  cried  at  the  right  time.  Just  as  God 
plans.  God  always  does  things  at  the  right  time.  Give 
God  a  chance;  he  may  be  a  little  slow  at  times,  but  he  will 
always  get  around  in  time. 

The  tears  of  that  baby  were  the  jewels  with  which 
Israel  was  ransomed  from  Egyptian  bondage.  The  princess 
had  a  woman's  heart  and  when  a  woman's  heart  and  a 
baby's  tears  meet,  something  happens  that  gives  the  devil 
cold  feet.  Perhaps  the  princess  had  a  baby  that  had  died, 
and  the  sight  of  Moses  may  have  torn  the  wound  open 
and  made  it  bleed  afresh.  But  she  had  a  woman's  heart, 
and  that  made  her  forget  she  was  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh 
and  she  was  determined  to  give  protection  to  that  baby. 
Faithful  Miriam  (the  Lord  be  praised  for  Miriam)  saw  the 
heart  of  the  princess  reflected  in  her  face.  Miriam  had  stud- 
ied faces  so  much  that  she  could  read  the  princess'  heart  as 
plainly  as  if  written  in  an  open  book,  and  she  said  to  her: 
"Shall  I  go  and  get  one  of  the  Hebrew  women  to  nurse  the 
child  for  you?"  and  the  princess  said,  ''Go." 

I  see  her  httle  feet  and  legs  fly  as  she  runs  down  the  hot, 
dusty  road,  and  her  mother  must  have  seen  her  coming 
a  mile  away,  and  she  ran  to  meet  her  own  baby  put  back 
in  her  arms.  And  she  was  being  paid  Egyptian  gold  to  take 
care  of  her  own  baby.  See  how  the  Lord  does  things?  ' '  Now 
you  take  this  child  and  nurse  it  for  me  and  I  will  pay  you 
yoiu*  wages."  It  was  a  joke  on  Pharaoh's  daughter,  paying 
Moses'  mother  for  doing  what  she  wanted  to  do  more  than 
anything  else — ^nurse  her  own  baby. 

How  quickly  the  mother  was  paid  for  these  long  hours 
of  anxiety  and  alarm  and  grief,  and  if  the  angels  know  what 
is  going  on  what  a  hilarious  time  there  must  have  been  in 
heaven  when  they  saw  Moses  and  Miriam  back  at  home, 
under  the  protection  of  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh.  I  imagine 
she  dropped  on  her  knees  and  poured  out  her  heart  to  God, 
who  had  helped  her  so  gloriously.  She  must  have  said: 
"Well,  Lord,  I  knew  you  would  help  me.    I  knew  you  would 


236  "HELP  THOSE  WOMEN" 

take  care  of  my  baby  when  I  made  the  ark  and  put  him 
in  it  and  put  it  in  the  water,  but  I  never  dreamed  that  you 
would  put  him  back  into  my  arms  to  take  care  of,  so  I  would 
not  have  to  work  and  slave  in  the  field  and  make  brick  and 
be  tortured  almost  to  death  for  fear  that  the  soldiers  of 
Pharaoh  would  find  my  baby  and  kill  him.  I  never  thought 
you  would  soften  the  stony  heart  of  Pharaoh  and  make  him 
pay  me  for  what  I  would  rather  do  than  anything  else  in  this 
world."  I  expect  to  meet  Moses'  mother  in  heaven,  and  I 
am  going  to  ask  her  how  much  old  Pharaoh  had  to  pay  her 
for  that  job.  I  think  that's  one  of  the  best  jokes,  that  old 
sinner  having  to  pay  the  mother  to  take  care  of  her  own  baby. 
But  I  tell  you,  if  you  give  God  a  chance,  he  will  fill  your 
heart  to  overflowing.    Just  give  him  a  chance. 

A  Mother's  Bravery 

This  mother  had  remarkable  pluck.  Everything  was 
against  her  but  she  would  not  give  up.  Her  heart  never 
failed.  She  made  as  brave  a  fight  as  any  man  ever  made 
at  the  soxmd  of  the  cannon  or  the  roar  of  musketry. 

"The  bravest  battle  that  was  ever  fought, 
Shall  I  tell  you  where  and  when? 
On  the  maps  of  the  world  you'll  find  it  not — 
'Twas  fought  by  the  mothers  of  men. 

"Nay,  not  with  cannon  or  battle  shot, 
With  Bword  or  noble  pen, 
Nay,  not  with  the  eloquent  word  or  thought, 
From  the  mouths  of  wonderful  men. 

"But  deep  in  the  waUed-up  woman's  heart — 
Of  women  that  would  not  yield. 
But,  bravely,  silently  bore  their  part — 
Lo,  there  is  the  battle-field. 

"No  marshaling  troops,  no  bivouac  aong, 
No  banner  to  gleam  and  wave; 
But  oh,  these  battles  they  last  so  long—* 
From  babyhood  to  the  grave.'! 


o 


"HELP  THOSE  WOMEN"  237 

Mothers  are  always  brave  when  the  safety  of  their 
children  is  concerned. 

This  incident  happened  out  West.  A  mother  was  work- 
ing in  a  garden  and  the  Uttle  one  was  sitting  under  a  tree  in 
the  yard  playing.  The  mother  heard  the  child  scream; 
she  ran,  and  a  huge  snake  was  wrapping  its  coils  about  the 
baby,  and  as  its  head  swung  around  she  leaped  and  grabbed 
it  by  the  neck  and  tore  it  from  her  baby  and  hurled  it 
against  a  tree. 

Fathers  often  give  up.  The  old  man  often  goes  to  booz- 
ing, becomes  dissipated,  takes  a  dose  of  poison  and  commits 
suicide;  but  the  mother  will  stand  by  the  home  and  keep 
the  Uttle  band  together  if  she  has  to  manicure  her  finger  nails 
over  a  washboard  to  do  it.  If  men  had  half  as  much  grit 
as  the  women  there  would  be  different  stories  written  about 
a  good  many  homes.  Look  at  her  work!  It  is  the  greatest 
in  the  world;  in  its  far-reaching  importance  it  is  transcend- 
ently  above  everything  in  the  universe — ^her  task  in  molding 
hearts  and  lives  and  shaping  character.  If  you  want  to  find 
greatness  don't  go  to  the  throne,  go  to  the  cradle;  and  the 
nearer  you  get  to  the  cradle  the  nearer  you  get  to  greatness. 
Now,  when  Jesus  wanted  to  give  his  disciples  an  impressive 
object  lesson  he  called  in  a  college  professor,  did  he?  Not 
much.  He  brought  in  a  Uttle  child  and  said:  "Except  ye 
become  as  one  of  these,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  the  kingdom 
of  God."  The  work  is  so  important  that  God  will  not  trust 
anybody  with  it  but  a  mother.  The  launching  of  a  boy  or 
a  girl  to  Uve  for  Christ  is  greater  work  than  the  launching 
of  a  battleship. 

Moses  was  a  chosen  vessel  of  the  Lord  and  God  wanted 
him  to  get  the  right  kind  of  a  start,  so  he  gave  him  a  good 
mother.  There  wasn't  a  college  professor  in  aU  Egypt  that 
God  would  trust  with  that  baby!  so  he  put  the  child  back 
in  its  mother's  arms.  He  knew  the  best  one  on  earth  to 
trust  with  that  baby  was  its  own  mother.  When  God  sends 
us  great  men  he  wants  to  have  them  get  the  right  kind  of  a 
start.    So  he  sees  to  it  that  they  have  a  good  mother.    Most 


238  "HELP  THOSE  WOMEN  *^ 

any  old  stick  will  do  for  a  daddy.    God  is  particular  about 
the  mothers. 

Good  Mothers  Needed 

And  so  the  great  need  of  this  country,  or  any  other 
country,  is  good  mothers,  and  I  beheve  we  have  more  good 
mothers  in  America  than  any  other  nation  on  earth.  If 
Washington's  mother  had  been  like  a  Happy  HooUgan's 
mother,  Washington  would  have  been  a  Happy  HooUgan. 

Somebody  has  said:  ''God  could  not  be  everywhere,  so 
he  gave  us  mothers."  Now  there  may  be  poetry  in  it,  but 
it's  true  "that  the  hand  that  rocks  the  cradle  rules  the  world," 
and  if  every  cradle  was  rocked  by  a  good  mother,  the  world 
would  be  full  of  good  men,  as  sure  as  you  breathe.  If  every 
boy  and  every  girl  today  had  a  good  mother,  the  saloons  and 
disreputable  houses  would  go  out  of  business  tomorrow. 

A  young  man  one  time  joined  a  church  and  the  preacher 
asked  him:  "What  was  it  I  said  that  induced  you  to  be  a 
Christian?" 

Said  the  young  man:  "Nothing  that  I  ever  heard  you 
say,  but  it  is  the  way  my  mother  lived."  I  tell  you  an  ounce 
of  example  outweighs  forty  million  tons  of  theory  and  specu- 
lation. If  the  mothers  would  live  as  they  should,  we  preach- 
ers would  have  little  to  do.  Keep  the  devil  out  of  the  boys 
and  girls  and  he  will  get  out  of  the  world.  The  old  sinners 
will  die  off  if  we  keep  the  young  ones  clean. 

The  biggest  place  in  the  world  is  that  which  is  being 
filled  by  the  people  who  are  closely  in  touch  with  youth. 
Being  a  king,  an  emperor  or  a  president  is  mighty  small 
potatoes  compared  to  being  a  mother  or  the  teacher  of  chil- 
dren, whether  in  a  public  school  or  in  a  Sunday  school,  and 
they  fill  places  so  great  that  there  isn't  an  angel  in  heaven 
that  wouldn't  be  glad  to  give  a  bushel  of  diamonds  to  boot 
to  come  down  here  and  take  their  places.  Commanding 
an  army  is  little  more  than  sweeping  a  street  or  pounding 
an  anvil  compared  with  the  training  of  a  boy  or  girl.  The 
mother  of  Moses  did  more  for  the  world  than  all  the  kings 


"HELP  THOSE  WOMEN"  239 

that  Egypt  ever  had.  To  teach  a  child  to  love  truth  and  hate 
a  lie,  to  love  purity  and  hate  vice,  is  greater  than  inventing 
a  flying  machine  that  will  take  you  to  the  moon  before  break- 
fast. Unconsciously  you  set  in  motion  influences  that  will 
damn  or  bless  the  old  universe  and  bring  new  worlds  out  of 
chaos  and  transform  them  for  God. 

God's  Hall  of  Fame 

A  man  sent  a  friend  of  mine  some  crystals  and  said: 
"One  of  these  crystals  as  large  as  a  pin  point  will  give  a 
distinguishable  green  hue  to  sixteen  hogsheads  of  water." 
Think  of  it !  Power  enough  in  an  atom  to  tincture  sixteen 
hogsheads  of  water.  There  is  power  in  a  word  or  act 
to  blight  a  boy  and,  through  him,  curse  a  community. 
There  is  power  enough  in  a  word  to  tincture  the  life  of 
that  child  so  that  it  will  become  a  power  to  lift  the  world 
to  Jesus  Christ.  The  mothers  will  put  in  motion  influences 
that  will  either  touch  heaven  or  hell.    Talk  about  greatness! 

Oh,  you  wait  until  you  reach  the  mountains  of  eternity, 
then  read  the  mothers'  names  in  God's  hall  of  fame,  and  see 
what  they  have  been  in  this  world.  Wait  until  you  see  God's 
hall  of  fame;  you  will  see  women  bent  over  the  washtub. 

I  want  to  tell  you  women  that  fooling  away  your  time 
hugging  and  kissing  a  poodle  dog,  caressing  a  "Spitz," 
drinking  society  brandy-mash  and  a  cocktail,  and  plajdng 
cards,  is  mighty  small  business  compared  to  molding  the 
life  of  a  child. 

Tell  me,  where  did  Moses  get  his  faith?  From  his 
mother.  Where  did  Moses  get  his  backbone  to  say:  "I 
won't  be  called  the  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter?"  He  got 
it  from  his  mother.  Where  did  Moses  get  the  nerve  to  say, 
"Excuse  me,  please,"  to  the  pleasiures  of  Egypt?  He  got 
it  from  his  mother.  You  can  bank  on  it  he  didn't  inhale  it 
from  his  dad.  Many  a  boy  would  have  turned  out  better 
if  his  old  dad  had  died  before  the  kid  was  bom.  You  tell 
your  boy  to  keep  out  of  bad  company.  Sometimes  when  he 
walks  down  the  street  with  his  father  he's  in  the  worst 


240  "HELP  THOSE  WOMEN" 

company  in  town.  His  dad  smokes,  drinks  and  chews. 
Moses  got  it  from  his  mother.  He  was  learned  in  all 
the  wisdom  of  Egypt,  but  that  didn't  give  him  the  swelled 
head. 

When  God  wants  to  throw  a  world  out  into  space,  he 
is  not  concerned  about  it.  The  first  mile  that  world  takes 
settles  its  course  for  eternity.  When  God  throws  a  child 
out  into  the  world  he  is  mighty  anxious  that  it  gets  a  good 
start.  The  Catholics  are  right  when  they  say:  "Give  us 
the  children  until  they  are  ten  years  old  and  we  don't 
care  who  has  them  after  that."  The  Cathohcs  are  not 
losing  any  sleep  about  losing  men  and  women  from  their 
church  membership.  It  is  the  only  church  that  has  ever 
shown  us  the  only  sensible  way  to  reach  the  masses — that  is, 
by  getting  hold  of  the  children.  That's  the  only  way  on 
God's  earth  that  you  will  ever  solve  the  problem  of  reaching 
the  masses.  You  get  the  boys  and  girls  started  right,  and 
the  devil  will  hang  a  crape  on  his  door,  bank  his  fires,  and  hell 
will  be  for  rent  before  the  Fourth  of  July. 

A  friend  of  mine  has  a  Uttle  girl  that  she  was  com- 
pelled to  take  to  the  hospital  for  an  operation.  They 
thought  she  would  be  frightened,  but  she  said:  "I  don't 
care  if  mama  will  be  there  and  hold  my  hand."  They 
prepared  her  for  the  operation,  led  her  into  the  room,  put 
her  on  the  table,  put  the  cone  over  her  face  and  saturated 
it  with  ether,  and  she  said:  ''Now,  mama,  take  me  by 
the  hand  and  hold  it  and  I'll  not  be  afraid."  And  the 
mother  stood  there  and  held  her  hand.  The  operation  was 
performed,  and  when  she  regained  consciousness,  they 
said:  "Bessie,  weren't  you  afraid  when  they  put  you  on 
the  table?"  She  said:  "No,  mama  stood  there  and  held 
my  hand.     I  wasn't  afraid." 

There  is  a  mighty  power  in  a  mother's  hand.  There's 
more  power  in  a  woman's  hand  than  there  is  in  a  king's 
scepter. 

And  there  is  a  mighty  power  in  a  mother's  kiss — 
inspiration,  courage,  hope,  ambition,  in  a  mother's  kiss. 


"HELP  THOSE  WOMEN"  241 

One  kiss  made  Benjamin  West  a  painter,  and  the  memory 
of  it  clung  to  him  through  hfe.  One  kiss  will  drive  away 
the  fear  in  the  dark  and  make  the  httle  one  brave.  It  will 
give  strength  where  there  is  weakness. 

I  was  in  a  town  one  day  and  saw  a  mother  out  with 
her  boy,  and  he  had  great  steel  braces  on  both  legs,  to  his 
hips,  and  when  I  got  near  enough  to  them  I  learned  by 
their  conversation  that  that  wasn't  the  first  time  the  mother 
had  had  him  out  for  a  walk.  She  had  him  out  exercising 
him  so  he  would  get  the  use  of  his  limbs.  He  was  struggling 
and  she  smiled  and  said:  "You  are  doing  finely  today; 
better  than  you  did  yesterday."  And  she  stooped  and 
kissed  him,  and  the  kiss  of  encouragement  made  him  work 
all  the  harder,  and  she  said:  "You  are  doing  nobly,  son." 
And  he  said:  "Mama,  I'm  going  to  nm;  look  at  me." 
And  he  started,  and  one  of  his  toes  caught  on  the  steel 
brace  on  the  other  leg  and  he  stumbled,  but  she  caught 
him  and  kissed  him,  and  said:  "That  was  fine,  son;  how 
well  you  did  it!"  Now,  he  did  it  because  his  mother  had 
encouraged  him  with  a  kiss.  He  didn't  do  it  to  show 
ofif.  There  is  nothing  that  will  help  and  inspire  life  like  a 
mother's  kiss. 

"If  we  knew  the  baby  fingers  pressed  against  the  window  pane, 
Would  be  cold  and  still  tomorrow,  never  trouble  us  again, 
Would  the  bright  eyes  of  our  darling  catch  the  frown  upon  our  brow? 

"Let  us  gather  up  the  sunbeams  lying  all  around  our  path. 
Let  us  keep  the  wheat  and  roses,  casting  out  the  thorns  and  chaff! 
We  shall  find  our  sweetest  comforts  in  the  blessings  of  today, 
With  a  patient  hand  removing  all  the  briars  from  our  way." 

A  Mother's  Song 

There  is  power  in  a  mother's  song,  too.  It's  the  best 
music  the  world  has  ever  heard.  The  best  music  in  the 
world  is  like  biscuits — it's  the  kind  mother  makes.  There 
is  no  brass  band  or  pipe  organ  that  can  hold  a  candle  to 
mother's  song.    Calve,  Melba,  Nordica,  Eames,  Schumann- 


242  "HELP  THOSE  WOMEN" 

Heinck,  they  are  cheap  skates,  compared  to  mother.  They 
can't  sing  at  all.  They  don't  know  the  rudiments  of  the 
kind  of  music  mother  sings.  The  kind  she  sings  gets 
tangled  up  in  your  heart  strings.  There  would  be  a  dis- 
appointment in  the  music  of  heaven  to  me  if  there  were  no 
mothers  there  to  sing.  The  song  of  an  angel  or  a  seraph 
would  not  have  much  charm  for  me.  What  would  you  care 
for  an  angel's  song  if  there  were  no  mother's  song? 

The  song  of  a  mother  is  sweeter  than  that  ever  simg 
by  minstrel  or  written  by  poet.  Talk  about  sonnets! 
You  ought  to  hear  the  mother  sing  when  her  babe  is  on  her 
breast,  when  her  heart  is  filled  with  emotion.  Her  voice 
may  not  please  an  artist,  but  it  will  please  any  one  who 
has  a  heart  in  him.  The  songs  that  have  moved  the  world 
are  not  the  songs  written  by  the  great  masters.  The  best 
music,  in  my  judgment,  is  not  the  faultless  rendition  of 
these  high-priced  opera  singers.  There  is  nothing  in  art 
that  can  put  into  melody  the  happiness  which  associations 
and  memories  bring.  I  think  when  we  reach  heaven  it 
will  be  found  that  some  of  the  best  songs  we  will  sing  there 
will  be  those  we  learned  at  mother's  knee. 

A  Mother's  Love 

There  is  power  in  a  mother's  love.  A  mother's  love 
must  be  like  God's  love.  How  God  could  ever  tell  the 
world  that  he  loved  it  without  a  mother's  help  has  often 
puzzled  me.  If  the  devils  in  hell  ever  turned  pale,  it  was 
the  day  mother's  love  flamed  up  for  the  first  time  in  a 
woman's  heart.  If  the  devil  ever  got  "cold  feet"  it  was 
that  day,  in  my  judgment. 

You  know  a  mother  has  to  love  her  babe  before  it  is 
bom.  Like  God,  she  has  to  go  into  the  shadows  of  the 
valley  of  death  to  bring  it  into  the  world,  and  she  will  love 
her  child,  suffer  for  it,  and  it  can  grow  up  and  become  vile 
and  yet  she  will  love  it.  Nothing  will  make  her  blame  it, 
and  I  think,  women,  that  one  of  the  awful  things  in  hell 
will  be  that  there  will  be  no  mother's  love  there.     Nothing 


"HELP  THOSE  WOMEN '^  243 

but  black,  bottomless,  endless,  eternal  hate  in  hell— no 
mother's  love. 

"And  though  he  creep  through  the  vilest  caves  of  sin, 
And  crouch  perhaps,  with  bleared  and  blood-shot  eyes, 
Under  the  hangman's  rope — a  mother's  lips 
Will  kiss  him  in  his  last  bed  of  disgrace, 
And  love  him  e'en  for  what  she  hoped  of  him." 

I  thank  God  for  what  mother's  love  has  done  for 
the  world. 

Oh,  there  is  power  in  a  mother's  trust.  Surely  as 
Moses  was  put  in  his  mother's  aims  by  the  princess,  so 
God  put  the  babes  in  your  arms,  as  a  charge  from  him  to 
raise  and  care  for.  Every  child  is  put  in  a  mother's  arms 
as  a  trust  from  God,  and  she  has  to  answer  to  God  for  the 
way  she  deals  with  that  child.  No  mother  on  God's  earth 
has  any  right  to  raise  her  children  for  pleasure.  She  has 
no  right  to  send  them  to  dancing  school  and  haunts  of  sin. 
You  have  no  right  to  do  those  things  that  will  curse  your 
children.  That  babe  is  put  in  your  arms  to  train  for  the 
Lord.  No  mother  has  any  more  right  to  raise  her  children 
for  pleasm-e  than  I  have  to  pick  your  pockets  or  throw 
red  pepper  in  your  eyes.  She  has  no  more  right  to  do  that 
than  a  bank  cashier  has  to  rifle  the  vaults  and  take  the 
savings  of  the  people.  One  of  the  worst  sins  you  can  com- 
mit is  to  be  unfaithful  to  your  trust. 

A  Mother's  Responsibility 

^'Take  this  child  and  nurse  it  for  me."  That  u  all  the 
business  you  have  with  it.  That  is  a  jewel  that  belongs 
to  God  and  he  gives  it  to  you  to  pohsh  for  him  so  he  can 
set  it  in  a  crown.  WTio  knows  but  that  Judas  became  the 
godless,  good-for-nothing  wretch  he  was  because  he  had  a 
godless,  good-for-nothing  mother?  Do  you  know?  I 
don't.  What  is  more  to  blame  for  the  crowded  prisons 
than  mothers?  Who  is  more  to  blame  for  the  crowded 
disreputable  houses  than  you  are,  who  let  your  children 


244  "HELP  THOSE  WOMEN" 

gad  the  streets,  with  every  Tom,  Dick  and  Harry,  or  keep 
company  with  some  httle  jack  rabbit  whose  character 
would  make  a  black  mark  on  a  piece  of  tar  paper?  I  have 
talked  with  men  in  prisons  who  have  damned  their  mothers 
to  my  face.  Why?  They  blame  their  mothers  for  their 
being  where  they  are. 

''Take  the  child  and  nm*se  it  for  me,  and  I  will  pay 
you  yom*  wages."  God  pays  in  joy  that  is  fire-proof, 
famine-proof  and  devil-proof.  He  will  pay  you,  don't  you 
worry.  So  get  your  name  on  God's  pay-roll.  ''Take  this 
child  and  nurse  it  for  me,  and  I  will  pay  you  your  wages." 
If  you  haven't  been  doing  that,  then  get  your  name  on 
God's  pay-roll. 

"Take  this  child  and  nurse  it  for  me,  and  I  will  pay 
you  your  wages."  Then  your  responsibihty!  It  is  so 
great  that  I  don't  see  how  any  woman  can  fail  to  be  a 
Christian  and  serve  God.  What  do  you  think  God  will 
do  if  the  mother  fails?  I  stagger  under  it.  What,  if 
through  your  unfaithfulness,  your  boy  becomes  a  curse 
and  your  daughter  a  blight?  What,  if  through  your  neglect, 
that  boy  becomes  a  Judas  when  he  might  have  been  a  John 
or  Paul? 

Down  in  Cincinnati  some  years  ago  a  mother  went 
to  the  zoological  garden  and  stood  leaning  over  the  bear 
pit,  watching  the  bears  and  dropping  crumbs  and  peanuts 
to  them.  In  her  arms  she  held  her  babe,  a  year  and  three 
months  Ad.  She  was  so  interested  in  the  bears  that  the 
baby  w  iggled  itself  out  of  her  arms  and  fell  into  the  bear 
pit,  and  she  watched  those  huge  monsters  rip  it  to  shreds. 
What  a  veritable  hell  it  will  be  through  all  her  life  to  know 
that  her  little  one  was  lost  through  her  own  carelessness 
and  neglect! 

"Take  this  child  and  raise  it  for  me,  and  I  wiU  pay 
you  your  wages."  Will  you  promise  and  covenant  with 
God,  and  with  me,  and  with  one  another,  that  from  now 
on  you  will  try,  with  God's  help,  to  do  better  than  you 
ever  have  done  to  raise  your  children  for  God? 


"HELP  THOSE  WOMEN"  245 

"I  once  read  the  story  of  an  angel  who  stole  out  of 
heaven  and  came  to  this  world  one  bright,  sunshiny  day; 
roamed  through  field,  forest,  city  and  hamlet,  and  as  the 
sun  went  down  plumed  his  wings  for  the  return  flight. 
The  angel  said:  "Now  that  my  visit  is  over,  before  I  return 
I  must  gather  some  mementos  of  my  trip."  He  looked 
at  the  beautiful  flowers  in  the  garden  and  said:  "How 
lovely  and  fragrant,"  and  plucked  the  rarest  roses,  made 
a  bouquet,  and  said:  "I  see  nothing  more  beautiful  and 
fragrant  than  these  flowers."  The  angel  looked  farther 
and  saw  a  bright-eyed,  rosy-cheeked  child,  and  said:  "That 
baby  is  prettier  than  the  flowers;  I  will  take  that,  too," 
and  looking  behind  to  the  cradle,  he  saw  a  mother's  love 
pouring  out  over  her  babe  like  a  gushing  spring,  and  the 
angel  said:  "The  mother's  love  is  the  most  beautiful  thing 
I  have  seen!     I  will  take  that,  too." 

And  with  these  three  treasm-es  the  heavenly  messenger 
winged  his  flight  to  the  pearly  gates,  saying:  "Before  I 
go  I  must  examine  the  mementos  of  my  trip  to  the  earth." 
He  looked  at  the  flowers;  they  had  withered.  He  looked 
at  the  baby's  smile,  and  it  had  faded.  He  looked  at  the 
mother's  love,  and  it  shone  in  all  its  pristine  beauty.  Then 
he  threw  away  the  withered  flowers,  cast  aside  the  faded 
smile,  and  with  the  mother's  love  pressed  to  his  breast, 
swept  through  the  gates  into  the  city,  shouting  that  the 
only  thing  he  had  found  that  would  retain  its  fragrance 
from  earth  to  heaven  was  a  mother's  love. 

"Take  this  child  and  nurse  it  for  me,  and  I  will  pay 
you  your  wages." 

When  Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  asked,  "What  do  you 
regard  as  the  greatest  need  of  France?"  he  rephed,"  Mothers, 
mothers,  mothers."  You  women  can  make  a  hell  of  a  home 
or  a  heaven  of  a  home.  Don't  turn  your  old  Gatling-gun 
tongue  loose  and  rip  everybody  up  and  rip  your  husbands 
up  and  send  them  out  of  their  homes.  If  I  were  going 
to  investigate  your  piety  I  would  ask  the  girl  who  works 
for  you. 


246  "HELP  THOSE  WOMEN" 

This  talk  about  the  land  of  the  free  is  discounted 
when  the  children  look  like  a  rummage  sale  in  a  second- 
hand store;  with  uncombed  hair,  ripped  pants,  buttons  ofif, 
stockings  hanging  down.  It  doesn't  take  the  wisdom  of 
truth  to  see  that  mother  is  too  busy  with  her  social  duties, 
clubs,  etc,  to  pay  much  attention  to  the  kids. 

Mothers  of  Great  Men 

The  mother  of  Nero  was  a  murderess,  and  it  is  no 
wonder  that  he  fiddled  while  Rome  burned.  The  mother 
of  Patrick  Henry  was  eloquent,  and  that  is  the  reason  why 
every  school  boy  and  girl  knows,  "Give  me  hberty  or  give 
me  death."  Coleridge's  mother  taught  him  Bibhcal 
stories  from  the  old  Dutch  tile  of  the  fireplace.  In  the 
home  authority  is  needed  today  more  than  at  any  time 
in  the  history  of  this  nation.  I  have  met  upon  the  arena 
of  the  conflict  every  form  of  man  and  beast  imaginable 
to  meet,  and  I  am  convinced  that  neither  law  nor  gospel 
can  make  a  nation  without  home  authority  and  home 
example.  Those  two  things  are  needed.  The  boy  who 
has  a  wholesome  home  and  surroundings  and  a  judicious 
control  included  does  not  often  find  his  way  into  the 
reformatory. 

Susanna  Wesley  was  the  mother  of  nineteen  children, 
and  she  held  them  for  God.  When  asked  how  she  did  it 
she  repUed,  "By  getting  hold  of  their  hearts  in  their  youth, 
and  never  losing  my  grip." 

If  it  had  not  been  for  the  expostulations  of  the  mother 
of  George  Washington,  George  Washington  would  have 
become  a  midshipman  in  the  British  navy,  and  the  name 
of  that  capital  yonder  would  have  been  some  other.  John 
Randolph  said  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  "If  it  had 
not  been  for  my  godly  mother,  I,  John  Randolph,  would 
have  been  an  infidel."  Gray,  who  wrote  the  "Elegy  in  a 
Country  Churchyard,"  said  he  was  one  of  a  large  family 
of  children  that  had  the  misfortune  to  siu^ve  their  mother. 
And  I  believe  the  ideal  mother  is  the  product  of  a  civiUza- 
tion  that  rose  from  the  manger  of  Bethlehem. 


"HELP  THOSE  WOMEN"  247 

I  am  sure  there  is  not  an  angel  in  heaven  that  would 
not  be  glad  to  come  to  earth  and  be  honored  with  mother- 
hood if  God  would  grant  that  privilege.  What  a  grand 
thing  it  must  be,  at  the  end  of  your  earthly  career,  to  look 
back  upon  a  noble  and  godly  life,  knowing  you  did  all  you 
could  to  help  leave  this  old  world  to  God,  and  made  your 
contributions  in  tears  and  in  prayers  and  taught  your 
offspring  to  be  God-fearing,  so  that  when  you  went  you 
would  continue  to  produce  your  noble  character  in  your 
children. 

I  beUeve  in  blood;  I  believe  in  good  blood,  bad  blood, 
honest  blood,  and  thieving  blood;  in  heroic  blood  and 
cowardly  blood;  in  virtuous  blood,  in  Hcentious  blood,  in 
drinking  blood  and  in  sober  blood.  The  lips  of  the  Haps- 
burgs  tell  of  licentiousness;  those  of  the  Stuarts  tell  of 
cruelty,  bigotry  and  sensuaUty,  from  Mary,  queen  of  Scots, 
down  to  Charles  the  First  and  Charles  the  Second,  James 
the  First — who  showed  the  world  what  your  fool  of  a  Scotch- 
man can  be  when  he  is  a  fool — down  to  King  James  the 
Second. 

Scotch  blood  stands  for  stubbornness.  They  are  full 
of  stick-to-it-iveness.  I  know,  Mrs.  Sunday  is  full-blooded 
Scotch.  English  blood  speaks  of  reverence  for  the  Enghsh. 
That  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  England  spent  $50,000,000 
recently  to  put  a  crown  on  George's  head.  Danish  blood 
tells  of  love  of  the  sea.  Welsh  blood  tells  of  reUgious  fervor 
and  zeal  for  God.  Jewish  blood  tells  of  love  of  money,  from 
the  days  of  Abraham  down  until  now. 

You  may  have  read  this  story:  Down  in  New  York 
was  a  woman  who  said  to  her  drunken  son:  ''Let's  go  down 
to  the  poUce  court  and  have  the  judge  send  you  over  to  the 
island  for  a  few  weeks.  Maybe  you'll  straighten  up  then 
and  I  can  have  some  respect  for  you  again."  Down  they 
went  to  the  police  court  and  appeared  before  the  judge. 
He  asked  who  would  make  the  charge  and  the  mother 
sprang  forward  with  the  words  on  her  lips.  Then  she 
stopped  short,  turned  to  her  son  and  throwing  her  arms 


248  "HELP  THOSE  WOMEN" 

about  his  neck  cried  out:  "I  can't!  I  can't!  He  is  my 
son,  I  love  him  and  I  can't."  Then  she  fell  at  his  feet 
dead.  As  deariy  as  she  had  loved  her  drunken,  bloated, 
loafing  son  she  couldn't  stand  in  judgment. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
Standing  on  the  Rock 

K  a  doctor  didn't  know  any  more  about  Materia  Medica  than  the  average 
church  member  knows  about  the  Bible,  he'd  be  arrested  for  malpractice. 
— ^BiLLT  Sunday. 

A  PUBLISHER  remarked  to  me  that  a  Billy  Sunday 
campaign  did  not  create  a  demand  for  religious  books 
in  general.  With  rather  an  air  of  fault-finding  he 
said,  "You  can't  sell  anything  but  Bibles  to  that  Billy 
Sunday  crowd." 

That  remark  is  illmninating.  Billy  Simday  does  not 
create  a  cult:  he  simply  sends  people  back  to  the  Bibles 
of  their  mothers.  His  converts  do  not  become  disciples 
of  any  particular  school  of  interpretation:  the  Bible  and 
the  hymn  book  are  their  only  armory.  It  cannot  be  gain- 
said that  it  is  better  to  read  the  Bible  than  to  read  books 
about  the  Bible.  The  work  of  Billy  Sunday  is  not  done  with 
a  convert  imtil  he  has  inspired  that  person  to  a  love  and 
loyalty  for  the  old  Book. 

Such  passages  as  this  show  the  uncompromising  loyalty 
of  Sunday  to  the  Bible: 

"Here  is  a  book,  God's  Word,  that  I  will  put  up  against 
all  the  books  of  all  the  ages.  You  can't  improve  on  the 
Bible.  You  can  take  all  the  histories  of  all  the  nations  of 
all  the  ages  and  cut  out  of  them  all  that  is  ennobling,  all 
that  is  inspiring,  and  compile  that  into  a  common  book, 
but  you  cannot  produce  a  work  that  will  touch  the  hem  of 
the  garment  of  the  Book  I  hold  in  my  hand.  It  is  said, 
'Why  cannot  we  improve  on  the  Bible?  We  have  advanced 
everything  else.'  No,  sir.  'Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass 
away,  but  My  Word  shall  not.'  And  so  this  old  Book, 
which  is  the  Word  of  God,  the  Word  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  the 
book  I  intend  to  preach  by  everywhere.    The  reUgion  that 

(249) 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT 


BIBLE  VERSION 

5.  And  the  people  spake 
against  Grod  and  against  Moses, 
Wherefore  have  ye  brought  us 
up  out  of  Egypt  to  die  in  the 
■vnldemess?  for  there  is  no  bread, 
neither  is  there  any  water; 
and  our  soul  loatheth  thb 
light  bread. 

6.  And  the  Lord  sent  fiery 
serpents  among  the  people,  and 
they  bit  the  people;  and  much 
people  of  Israel  died. 

7.  Therefore  the  people  came 
to  Moses  and  said.  We  have 
sinned,  for  we  have  spoken 
against  the  Lord,  and  against 
thee;  pray  unto  the  Lord  that 
he  take  away  the  serpents 
from  us.  And  Moses  prayed 
for  the  people. 

8.  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Moses,  Make  thee  a  fiery  ser- 
pent, and  set  it  upon  a  pole: 
and  it  shall  come  to  pass  that 
every  one  that  is  bitten,  when 
he  looketh  upon  it,  shall  live. 

9.  And  Moses  made  a  ser- 
pent of  brass  and  put  it  upon 
a  pole  and  it  came  to  pass,  that 
if  a  serpent  had  bitten  any 
man,  when  he  beheld  the  ser- 
pent of  brass  he  lived. 


Sunday's  version 

The  Jews  were  in  Egyptian 
bondage  for  years.  God  said 
he  would  release  them,  but  he 
hadn't  come.  But  God  never 
forgets.  So  he  came  and  chose 
Moses  to  lead  them,  and  when 
Moses  got  them  out  in  the 
wilderness  they  began  to  knock 
and  said,  "Wlio  is  this  Moses 
anyway?  We  don't  know  him. 
Were  there  not  enough  graves 
in  Egypt?"  and  they  said  they 
didn't  like  the  white  bread  they 
were  getting  and  wanted  the 
onions  and  the  leeks  and  the 
garlic  and  melons  of  Egypt, 
and  they  found  fault.  And  God 
sent  the  serpents  and  was  going 
to  kill  them  all,  but  Moses 
interceded  and  said,  "Now  see 
here,  God."  But  the  Lord  said, 
"Get  out  of  the  way,  Moses, 
and  let  me  kill  them  all."  But 
Moses  said,  "Hold  on  there. 
Lord.  That  bunch  would  have 
the  laugh  on  you  if  you  did 
that.  They'd  say  you  brought 
them  out  here  and  the  com- 
missary stores  ran  out  and 
you  couldn't  feed  them,  so 
you  Just  killed  them  all."  So 
God  said,  "All  right,  for  your 
sake,  Moses,  I  won't,"  and  he 
said,  "  Moses,  you  go  and  set 
up  a  brazen  serpent  in  the 
wilderness  and  that  will  be  the 
one  thing  that  will  save  them 
if  they  are  bitten.  They  must 
look  or  die." 


STANDING  ON  THE  ROCK  25i 

has  withstood  the  sophistry  and  the  criticism  of  the  ages, 
the  sarcasm  of  Voltaire,  the  irony  of  Himae,  the  blasphemy 
of  Ingersoll,  the  astronomer's  telescope,  the  archaeologist's 
spade  and  the  physician's  scalpel — they  have  all  tried  to 
prove  the  Bible  false,  but  the  old  Book  is  too  tough  for  the 
tooth  of  time,  and  she  stands  triumphant  over  the  grave  of 
all  that  have  railed  upon  her.  God  Almighty  is  still  on  the 
job.  Some  people  act  as  though  they  had  sent  for  the 
undertaker  to  come  to  embalm  God  and  bury  him.  But  it 
is  the  truth;  it  is  not  an  accident  that  places  the  Christian 
nations  in  the  forefront  of  the  world's  battles.  It  is  some- 
thing more  than  race,  color,  climate,  that  causes  the  differ- 
ence between  the  people  that  dwell  on  the  banks  of  the 
Congo  and  those  in  this  valley.  The  scale  of  civiUzation 
always  ascends  the  Une  of  reUgion;  the  highest  civiUzation 
always  goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  purest  rehgion.'* 

Rigid  as  he  is  in  Hteral  interpretation  of  the  Bible, 
Sunday  is  celebrated  for  his  paraphrases  of  favorite  passages, 
a  recasting  of  the  familiar  form  of  words  into  the  speech  of 
the  day.  Some  of  these  "slang  versions"  of  the  old  Book 
make  one  gasp;  but  generally  the  evangehst  gets  the 
innermost  meaning  of  the  Book  itself.  He  is  not  an  inter- 
preter of  the  Bible  but  a  popularizer  of  it.  He  does  not 
expound  the  Scripture  as  much  as  he  pounds  in  the  Scripture. 
The  Bible  and  its  place  in  the  life  of  the  Christian  are  often 
on  the  Evangelist's  Ups. 

Here,  for  instance,  is  his  interpretation  of  the  story  of 
David  and  Goliath: 

"All  of  the  sons  of  Jesse  except  David  went  off  to  war; 
they  left  David  at  home  because  he  was  only  a  kid.  After 
a  while  David's  ma  got  worried.  She  wondered  what  had 
become  of  his  brothers,  because  they  hadn't  telephoned  to 
her  or  sent  word.  So  si.e  said  to  David,  *  Dave,  you  go  down 
there  and  see  whether  they  are  all  right.' 

"So  David  pikes  off  to  where  the  war  is,  and  the  first 
morning  he  was  there  out  comes  this  big  Goliath,  a  big, 
strapping  fellow  about  eleven  feet  tall,  who  conmienced  to 
shoot  off  his  mouth  as  to  what  he  was  going  to  do. 


252  STANDING  ON  THE  ROCK 

"*  Who's  that  big  stiff  putting  up  that  game  of  talk?' 
asked  David  of  his  brothers. 

*''0h,  he's  the  whole  works;  he's  the  head  cheese  of  the 
Philistines.     He  does  that  little  stunt  every  day.' 

"'Say,'  said  David,  'you  guys  make  me  sick.  Why 
don't  some  of  you  go  out  and  soak  that  guy?  You  let  him 
get  away  with  that  stuff.'  He  decided  to  go  out  and  tell 
Goliath  where  to  head  in. 

"So  Saul  said,  'You'd  better  take  my  armor  and  sword.' 
David  put  them  on,  but  he  felt  hke  a  fellow  with  a  hand-me- 
down  suit  about  four  times  too  big  for  him,  so  he  took  them 
off  and  went  down  to  the  brook  and  picked  up  a  half  dozen 
stones.  He  put  one  of  them  in  his  sling,  threw  it,  and  soaked 
Goliath  in  the  coco  between  the  lamps,  and  he  went  down 
for  the  count.  David  drew  his  sword  and  chopped  off  his 
block,  and  the  rest  of  the  gang  beat  it." 

SUNDAY  UTTERANCES  ON  THE  BIBLE 

The  Bible  is  the  Word  of  God.  Nothing  has  ever  been 
more  clearly  estabhshed  in  the  world  today,  and  God 
blesses  every  people  and  nation  that  reverence  it.  It  haa 
stood  the  test  of  time.  No  book  has  so  endured  through  the 
ages.  No  book  has  been  so  hated.  Everything  the  cunning 
of  man,  philosophy,  brutaUty,  could  contrive  has  been 
done,  but  it  has  withstood  them  all. 

There  is  no  book  which  has  such  a  circulation  today. 
Bibles  are  dropping  from  the  press  like  the  leaves  in  autumn. 
There  are  200,000,000  copies.  It  is  read  by  all  nations.  It 
has  been  translated  into  five  hundred  languages  and  dia- 
lects. 

No  book  ever  came  by  luck  or  chance.  Every  book 
owes  its  existence  to  some  being  or  beings,  and  within  the 
range  and  scope  of  human  inteUigence  there  are  but  three 
things — good,  bad,  and  God.  All  that  originates  in  intellect, 
all  which  the  intellect  can  comprehend,  must  come  from  one 
of  the  three.  This  book,  the  Bible,  could  not  possibly  be 
the  product  of  evil,  wicked,  godless,  corrupt,  vile  men.  /^or 


Biting,  Bustemnq,  Blasting  Condemnation  op  Sin.     Tms  Rare  Pho- 
tograph Shows  the  Tremendous  Earnestness  of  Mr.  Sunday  and 
THE  Energy,  Zeal  and  Fire  he  Puts  into  his  Message  which 
has  Warmed  this  Cold  World  more  than  that  of  ant 
other  Apostle  of  Righteousness  in  this  Generation. 


STANDING  ON  THE  ROCK  253 

it  pronounces  the  heaviest  penalties  against  sin.  Like 
produces  like,  and  if  bad  men  were  writing  the  Bible  they 
never  would  have  pronounced  condemnation  and  punish- 
ment against  wrong-doing.  The  holy  men  of  old,  we  are 
told,  "spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  Men 
do  not  attribute  these  beautiful  and  matchless  and  well- 
arranged  sentences  to  human  intelhgence  alone,  but  we  are 
told  that  men  spake  as  they  were  inspired  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  The  only  being  left,  to  whom  you,  or  I,  or  any 
sensible  person  could  ascribe  the  origin  of  the  Bible,  is  God. 

Men  have  been  thrown  to  beasts  and  burned  to  death 
for  having  a  Bible  in  their  possession.  There  have  been  wars 
over  the  Bible;  cities  have  been  destroyed.  Nothing  ever 
brought  such  persecution  as  the  Bible.  Everything  vile, 
dirty,  rotten  and  iniquitous  has  been  brought  to  bear  against 
it  because  it  reveals  man's  cussedness.  But  it's  here,  and  its 
power  and  influence  are  greater  today  than  ever. 

Saloons,  bawdy  houses,  gambling  hells,  every  rake, 
every  white-slaver,  every  panderer  and  everything  evil  has 
been  against  it,  but  it  is  the  word  of  God,  and  milHons  of 
people  know  it. 

This  being  true,  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  that  you 
should  think  of  the  truths  in  it.  I'll  bet  my  life  that  there  are 
hundreds  of  you  that  haven't  read  ten  pages  of  the  Bible  in 
ten  years.  Some  of  you  never  open  it  except  at  a  birth,  a 
marriage  or  a  death,  and  then  just  to  keep  your  family 
records  straight.  That's  a  disgrace  and  an  insult.  I  repeat  it, 
it's  a  disgrace  and  an  insult.  Don't  blame  God  if  you  wind 
up  in  hell,  after  God  warned  you,  because  you  didn't  take 
time  to  read  it  and  think  about  it. 

It  is  the  only  book  that  tells  us  of  a  God  that  we  can 
love,  a  heaven  to  win,  a  hell  to  shun  and  a  Saviour  that  can 
save.  Why  did  God  give  us  the  Bible?  So  that  we  might 
believe  in  Christ.  No  other  book  tells  us  this.  It  tells  us 
why  the  Bible  was  written,  that  we  might  beheve  and  be 
saved.  You  don't  read  a  railroad  guide  to  learn  to  raise 
buckwheat.     You  don't  read  a  cook  book  to  learn  to  shoe 


254  STANDING  ON  THE  ROCK 

horses.  You  don't  read  an  arithmetic  to  leam  the  history 
of  the  United  States.  A  geography  does  not  tell  you  about 
how  to  make  buckwheat  cakes.  No,  you  read  a  railroad 
guide  to  leam  about  the  trains,  a  cook  book  to  learn  to  make 
buckwheat  cakes,  an  arithmetic  for  arithmetic  and  a  geogra- 
phy for  geography.  If  you  want  to  get  out  of  a  book  what 
the  author  put  in  it,  find  out  why  it  was  written.  That^s 
'the  way  to  get  good  out  of  a  book.    Read  it. 

It  was  written  that  you  might  read  and  believe  that 
Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God.  The  Bible  wasn't  intended  for  a 
history  or  a  cook  book.  It  was  intended  to  keep  me  from 
going  to  hell. 

The  greatest  good  can  be  had  from  anything  by  using 
it  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  intended.  A  loaf  of 
bread  and  a  brick  may  look  alike,  but  try  and  exchange  them 
and  see.  You  build  a  house  with  brick,  but  you  can't  eat 
it.  The  purpose  of  a  time  table  is  to  give  the  time  of  trains, 
the  junctions,  the  different  railroads.  A  man  that  has  been 
over  the  road  knows  more  about  it  than  a  man  who  has 
never  been  over  it.  A  man  who  has  made  the  journey  of 
life  guided  by  the  Bible  knows  more  about  it  than  any  high- 
browed  lobster  who  has  never  lived  a  word  of  it.  Then  whom 
are  you  going  to  beHeve,  the  man  who  has  tried  it  or  the  man 
who  knows  nothing  about  it? 

The  Bible  was  not  intended  for  a  science  any  more  than 
a  crowbar  is  intended  for  a  toothpick.  The  Bible  was  written 
to  tell  men  that  they  might  live,  and  it's  true  today. 

One  man  says:  "I  do  not  beheve  in  the  Bible  because 
of  its  inconsistencies."  I  say  the  greatest  inconsistency  is 
in  your  life — ^not  in  the  Bible!  I  bring  up  before  you  the 
memory  of  some  evil  deed,  and  you  inamediately  begin  to 
find  fault  with  the  Bible!  Go  to  a  man  and  talk  business  or 
poHtics  dnd  he  talks  sense.  Go  to  a  woman  and  talk  society, 
clubs  or  dress,  and  she  talks  sense.  Talk  religion  to  them, 
and  they  will  talk  nonsense! 

I  want  to  say  that  I  beHeve  that  the  Bible  is  the  Word 
of  God  from  cover  to  cover.    Not  because  I  understand  its 


STANDING  ON  THE  ROCK  255 

philosophy,  speculation,  or  theory.  I  cannot;  wouldn't 
attempt  it;  and  I  would  be  a  fool  if  I  tried.  I  believe  it 
because  it  is  from  the  mouth  of  God;  the  mouth  of  God  has 
spoken  it. 

There  is  only  one  way  to  have  the  doubts  destroyed. 
Read  the  Bible  and  obey  it.  You  say  you  can't  understand 
it.  There's  an  A,  B,  C  in  rehgion,  just  as  in  everything 
else.  When  you  go  to  school  you  learn  the  A,  B,  C's  and 
pretty  soon  can  understand  something  you  thought  you 
never  could  when  you  started  out.  So  in  religion.  Begin 
with  the  simple  things  and  go  on  and  you'll  understand. 
That's  what  it  was  written  for,  that  you  might  read  and 
beUeve  and  be  saved.  I'm  willing  to  stand  here  and  take 
the  hand  of  any  man  or  woman  if  you  are  willing  to  come 
and  begin  with  the  knowledge  you  have. 

In  South  Africa  there  are  diamond  mines  and  the  fact 
has  been  heralded  to  every  comer  of  the  world.  But  only 
those  that  dig  for  them  get  the  diamonds.  So  it  is  with  the 
Bible.  Dig  and  you'll  find  gold  and  salvation.  You  have 
to  dig  out  the  truths. 

Years  ago  in  Sing  Sing  prison  there  was  a  convict  by 
the  name  of  Jerry  McCauley  and  one  day  an  old  pal  of  his 
came  back  to  the  prison  and  told  him  how  he  had  been  saved, 
and  quoted  a  verse  of  Scriptm-e.  McCauley  didn't  know 
where  to  find  the  verse  in  the  Bible,  so  he  started  in  at  the 
first  and  read  through  until  he  came  to  it.  It  was  away  over 
in  the  ninth  chapter  of  Hebrews.  But  he  found  Jesus  Christ 
while  he  was  reading  it.  He  lived  a  godly  life  until  the  day 
he  died. 

Supposing  a  man  should  come  to  you  and  say,  "The  title 
to  yoiu"  property  is  no  good  and  if  some  one  contests  it  you 
will  lose?"  Would  you  laugh  and  go  on  about  your  business? 
No,  sir!  You  would  go  to  the  court  house  and  if  you  could 
find  it  in  only  one  book  there,  the  book  in  the  recorder's 
office,  you'd  search  and  find  it,  and  if  the  recorder  said 
the  deed  was  all  right  you  could  laugh  at  whatever  any  one 
else  said. 


266  STANDING  ON  THE  ROCK 

There  is  only  one  book  in  the  world  that  tells  me  about 
my  soul.  It  says  if  you  beUeve  you're  saved,  if  you  don't 
you  are  danmed.  God  said  it  and  it's  all  true.  Every  man 
who  believes  in  the  Bible  shall  Uve  forever.  The  Bible  says 
heaven  or  hell,  so  why  do  you  resist? 

No  words  are  put  in  the  Bible  for  effect.  The  Bible 
talks  to  us  so  we  can  understand.  God  could  use  language 
that  no  one  could  understand.  But  we  can  not  imderstand 
all  by  simply  heai'ing  and  reading.  When  we  see  we  will 
know. 

"I  stood  one  day  beside  a  blacksmith's  door, 

And  heard  the  anvil  beat  and  the  bellows  chime; 
Looking  in,  I  saw  upon  the  floor 
Old  hammers  worn  out  with  beating  years  and  years  of  time. 

**  'How  many  anvils  have  you  had?*  said  I, 
*To  wear  and  batter  all  these  hammers  so?' 
*Just  one,'  said  he,  then  said  with  twinkling  eye, 
'The  anvil  wears  the  hammers  out,  you  know.' 

"So  methought,  the  anvils  of  God's  word — 
Of  Jesus'  sacrifice — have  been  beat  upon — 
The  noise  of  falling  blows  waa  heard — 
;^_The  anvil  is  imharmed — ^the  hammers  are  all  gone." 

Julian  the  apostate  was  a  hammer.  Gone!  Voltaire, 
Renan,  hammers.  Gone!  In  Germany,  Goethe,  Strauss, 
Schleiermacher — ^gone.  In  England,  Mill,  Hume,  Hobbes, 
Darwin,  Huxley  and  Spencer — the  anvil  remains;  the 
hamaner  is  gone.  In  America,  Thomas  Paine,  Parker, 
Ingersoll,  gone.    The  anvil  remains. 

Listen.  In  France  a  hundred  years  ago  or  more  they 
were  printing  and  circulating  infidel  literature  at  the  expense 
of  $4,500,000  a  year.  What  was  the  result?  God  was  denied, 
the  Bible  sneered  at  and  ridiculed,  and  between  1792  and 
1795  one  milhon  twenty  thousand  and  fifty-one  hundred 
people  were  brought  to  death.  The  Word  of  God  stood 
unshaken  amidst  it  all.    Josh  Billings  said:  ''I  would  rather 


STANDING  ON  THE  ROCK  267 

be  an  idiot  than  an  infidel;  because  if  I  am  an  infidel  I  made 
myself  so,  but  if  I  am  an  idiot  somebody  else  did  it."  Oh, 
the  wreckers'  lights  on  the  dangerous  coasts  that  try  to 
allure  and  drag  us  away  from  God  have  all  gone  out,  but 
God's  words  shine  on. 

The  vital  truths  of  the  Bible  are  more  beHeved  in  the 
world  today  than  at  any  other  time.  When  a  man  becomes 
so  intelligent  that  he  can  not  accept  the  Bible,  too  progi-essive 
to  be  a  Christian,  that  man's  influence  for  good,  in  society, 
in  business  or  as  a  companion,  is  at  an  end.  Some  think  that 
being  a  doubter  is  an  evidence  of  superior  intellect.     No! 

I've  never  found  a  dozen  men  in  my  life  who  disbelieved 
in  the  Bible  but  what  they  were  hugging  some  secret  sin. 
When  you  are  willing  to  give  up  that  pet  sin  you  will  find  it 
easy  to  beheve  in  the  Bible. 

Jt  explains  to  me  why  Saul  of  Tarsus,  the  murderer, 
was  cnanged  to  Paul,  the  apostle.  It  explains  to  me  why 
David  Livingstone  left  his  Highland  home  to  go  to  darkest 
Africa.  It  explains  to  me  why  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  was 
made  from  a  drunkard  into  a  power  for  God  in  London  for 
sixty-five  years.  It  explains  why  missionaries  leave  home 
and  friends  to  go  into  unknown  lands  and  preach  Jesus  Christ, 
and  perhaps  to  die  at  the  hands  of  the  natives. 

I  can  see  in  this  book  God  revealed  to  man  and  when  I 
do  and  accept,  I  am  satisfied.  It  is  just  what  you  need  to  be 
Satisfied.     God  knows  your  every  need. 

This  explains  to  me  why  Jesus  Christ  has  such  influence 
on  men  and  women  in  the  world  today.  No  man  ever  had 
such  influence  to  teach  men  and  women  virtue  and  goodness 
as  Christ.  This  influence  has  been  in  the  world  from  2,000 
years  ago  to  the  present  time.  The  human  heart;  is  to  Jesus 
like  a  great  piano.  First  he  plays  the  sad  melodies  of  repent- 
ance and  then  the  joyful  hallelujahs. 

The  Bible  has  promises  running  all  through  it  and  God 
wants  you  to  appropriate  them  for  your  use.  They  are 
iike  a  bank  note.  They  are  of  no  value  unless  used.  You 
might  starve  to  death  if  you  have  money  in  your  pocketSr 


268  STANDING  ON  THE  ROCK 

but  won't  use  it.  So  the  promises  may  not  do  you  any  good 
because  you  will  not  use  them.  The  Bible  is  a  galaxy  of 
promises  like  the  Milky  Way  in  the  heavens. 

When  you  are  in  trouble,  instead  of  going  to  your  Bible, 
you  let  them  grow,  and  they  grow  faster  than  Jonah's  gourd 
vine.    You're  afraid  to  step  out  on  the  promises. 

There  are  many  exceedingly  great  and  precious  promises 
in  the  Bible.    Here  is  one: 

"Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  my  name,  that  will  I  do, 
that  the  Father  may  be  glorified  in  the  Son." 

If  some  of  you  would  receive  such  a  promise  from  John 
D.  Rockefeller  or  Andrew  Carnegie,  you'd  sit  up  all  night 
writing  out  checks  to  be  cashed  in  the  morning.  And  yet 
you  let  the  Bible  he  on  the  table. 

But  the  infidel  says:  "Mr.  Sunday,  why  are  there  so 
many  intelligent  people  in  the  world  that  don't  beheve  the 
Bible?" 

Do  you  wonder  that  it  was  an  infidel  who  started  the 
question:  "Is  life  worth  living?"  Do  you  wonder  that  it 
was  some  fool  woman,  an  infidel  woman,  that  first  started 
the  question :  "  Is  marriage  a  failure?  "  A  fool,  infidel  woman. 
Christians  do  not  ask  such  fool  questions.  Would  you  be 
surprised  to  be  reminded  that  infidel  writers  and  speakers 
have  always  and  do  always  advocate  and  condone  and  ex- 
cuse suicide?  Do  you  know  that  in  infidelity  the  gospel  is 
suicide?  That  is  their  theory  and  I  don't  blame  them,  and 
the  sooner  thoy  leave  the  world  the  better  the  world  will  be. 

The  great  men  of  the  ages  are  on  the  side  of  the  Bible. 
A  good  many  infidels  talk  as  though  the  great  minds  of  the 
world  were  arrayed  against  Christianity  and  the  Bible. 
Great  statesmen,  inventors,  painters,  poets,  artists, 
musicians,  have  lifted  up  their  hearts  in  prayer.  Watt, 
the  inventor  of  the  steam  engine,  was  a  Christian;  Fulton, 
the  inventor  of  the  steamboat,  was  a  Christian;  Cyrus 
McCormick,  who  first  invented  the  self-binder,  was  a 
Christian;  Morse,  who  invented  the  telegraph,  and  the  first 
message  that  ever  flashed  over  the  wire  was  from  Deuteron- 


STANDING  ON  THE  ROCK  259 

omy — 'What  hath  God  wrought'.  Edison,  although  a 
doubter  in  some  things,  said  that  there  was  evidence  enough 
in  chemistry  to  prove  the  existence  of  a  God,  if  there  was  no 
evidence  besides  that.  George  Washington  was  a  Christian. 
Abraham  Lincohi  was  a  Christian,  and  with  Bishop  Simpson 
knelt  on  his  knees  in  the  White  House,  praying  God  to  give 
victory  to  the  Army  of  the  Blue.  John  Hay,  the  brightest 
Secretary  of  State  that  ever  managed  the  affairs  of  state,  in 
my  judgment,  was  a  Christian.  William  Jennings  Bryan, 
a  man  as  clean  as  a  hound's  tooth;  Garfield,  McKinley, 
Grover  Cleveland,  Harrison,  Theodore  Roosevelt,  Wood- 
row  Wilson — all  Christians. 

The  poets  drew  their  inspiration  from  the  Bible.  Dante's 
"Inferno,"  Milton's  "Paradise  Lost,"  two  of  the  greatest 
works  ever  written,  were  inspired  by  the  Word  of  God.  Lord 
Byron,  although  a  profligate,  drew  his  inspiration  from  the 
Word  of  God.  Shakespeare's  works  abound  with  quotations 
from  the  Bible.  John  G.  Whittier,  Longfellow,  Michael 
Angelo,  who  painted  "The  Last  Judgment,"  Raphael,  who 
painted  the  "Madonna  of  the  Chair,"  Da  Vinci,  who  painted 
"The  Last  Supper,"  all  dipped  their  brushes  in  the  light  of 
heaven  and  painted  for  eternity.  The  great  men  of  the 
world  of  all  ages,  of  science,  art,  or  statesmanship,  have  all 
believed  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God. 

Twenty-seven  years  ago,  with  the  Holy  Spirit  for  my 
guide,  I  entered  this  wonderful  temple  that  we  call  Christian- 
ity. I  entered  through  the  portico  of  Genesis  and  walked 
down  through  the  Old  Testament's  art  gallery,  where  I  saw 
the  portraits  of  Joseph,  Jacob,  Daniel,  Moses,  Isaiah,  Sol- 
omon and  David  hanging  on  the  wall;  I  entered  the  music 
room  of  the  Psalms  and  the  Spirit  of  God  struck  the  key- 
board of  my  nature  until  it  seemed  to  me  that  every  reed 
and  pipe  in  God's  great  organ  of  nature  responded  to  the 
harp  of  David,  and  the  charm  of  King  Solomon  in  his 
moods. 

I  walked  into  the  business  house  of  Proverbs. 

I  walked  into  the   observatory  of   the  prophets  and 


260  STANDING  ON  THE  ROCK 

there  saw  photographs  of  various  sizes,  some  pointLig  to 
far-off  stars  or  events — all  concentrated  upon  one  great 
Star  which  was  to  rise  as  an  atonement  for  sin. 

Then  I  went  into  the  audience  room  of  the  King  of 
Kings,  and  got  a  vision  from  four  different  points — from  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  Luke  and  John.  I  went  into  the  correspondence 
room,  and  saw  Peter,  James,  Paul  and  Jude,  penning  their 
epistles  to  the  world.  I  went  into  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
and  saw  the  Holy  Spirit  forming  the  Holy  Church,  and  then 
I  walked  into  the  throne  room  and  saw  a  door  at  the  foot  of 
a  tower  and,  going  up,  I  saw  One  standing  there,  fair  as  the 
morning,  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and  I  found  this 
truest  friend  that  man  ever  knew;  when  all  were  false  I 
found  him  true. 

In  teaching  me  the  way  of  life,  the  Bible  has  taught 
me  the  way  to  live,  it  taught  me  how  to  die. 

So  that  is  why  I  am  here,  sober  and  a  Christian,  instead 
of  a  booze-hoisting  infidel. 


CHAPTER  XX 
Making  a  Joyiul  Noise 

Don't  look  as  if  your  religion  hurt  you. — Billy  Sunday. 


H 


i*  ]P  'JE  hath  put  a  new  song  in  my  mouth."  That  is 
real  religion  which  sets  the  saints  to  singing. 
Gloomy  Christians  are  a  poor  advertisement  of 
the  Gospel.  There  is  nothing  of  gloom  about  a  Billy  Sim- 
day  revival. 

Shrewd  students  of  the  campaigns  have  often  remarked 
that  there  are  so  few  tears  and  so  much  laughter  at  the 
evangeUst's  services.  There  is  scarcely  one  of  Sunday's 
sermons  in  which  he  does  not  make  the  congregation  laugh. 
AH  of  his  work  is  attuned  to  the  note  of  vitahty,  robustness 
and  happiness.  Concerning  the  long-faced  Christian  Sim- 
day  says: 

"Some  people  couldn't  have  faces  any  longer  if  they 
thought  God  was  dead.  They  ought  to  pray  to  stop  look- 
ing so  sour.  If  they  smile  it  looks  like  it  hurts  them,  and 
you're  always  glad  when  they  stop  smiling.  If  Paul  and 
Silas  had  had  such  long  faces  as  some  church  members  have 
on  them  when  they  went  into  the  PhiUppian  jail,  the  jailer 
would  never  have  been  saved.  There  never  was  a  greater 
mistake  than  to  suppose  that  God  wants  you  to  be  long- 
faced  when  you  put  on  your  good  clothes.  You'd  better 
not  fast  at  all  if  you  give  the  devil  all  the  benefit.  God 
wants  people  to  be  happy. 

"The  matter  with  a  lot  of  you  people  is  that  your 
religion  is  not  complete.  You  have  not  yielded  yourself 
to  God  and  gone  out  for  God  and  God's  truth.  Why,  I 
am  almost  afraid  to  make  some  folks  laugh  for  fear  that  I 
will  be  arrested  for  breaking  a  costly  piece  of  antique  bric-a- 
brac.  You  would  think  that  if  some  people  laughed  it 
would   break   their    faces.      I  want  to  tell  you  that  the 

(261) 


262  MAKING  A  JOYFUL  NOISE 

happy,  smiling,  sunny-faced  religion  will  win  more  people 
to  Jesus  Christ  than  the  miserable  old  grimfaced  kind 
will  in  ten  years.  I  pity  any  one  who  can't  laugh. 
There  must  be  something  wrong  with  their  rehgion  or 
their  liver.     The  devil  can't  laugh. 

"  '  Oh,  laugh  and  the  world  laughs  with  you, 

Weep  and  you  weep  alone; 
"Ha  easy  enough  to  be  pleasant 

When  life  moves  along  like  a  song; 
But  the  man  worth  while  is  the  man  who  can  smile 

When  everything  goes  dead  wrong.' 

"Don't  look  as  if  religion  hurt  you.  Don't  look  as  if 
you  had  on  a  number  two  shoe  when  you  ought  to  be  wear- 
ing a  number  five.  I  see  some  women  who  look  as  if  they 
had  the  toothache.  That  won't  win  anyone  for  Christ. 
Look  pleasant.  Look  as  if  religion  made  you  happy,  when 
you  had  it. 

"Then  there  is  music.  When  you  get  to  heaven  you'll 
find  that  not  all  have  been  preached  there.  They  have  been 
sung  there.  God  pity  us  when  music  is  not  for  the  glory  of 
God.  Some  of  you  will  sing  for  money  and  for  honor,  but 
you  won't  sing  in  the  church.  Much  of  the  church  music 
today  is  all  poppycock  and  nonsense.  Some  of  these  high- 
priced  sopranos  get  up  in  church  and  do  a  little  diaphragm 
wiggle  and  make  a  noise  Hke  a  horse  neighing.  I  don't 
wonder  the  people  in  the  congregation  have  a  hard  time 
of  it." 

So  Sunday  sets  the  city  to  singing.  His  sermons  are 
framed  in  music — and  not  music  that  is  a  performance  by 
some  soloist,  but  music  that  ministers  to  his  message. 
His  gospel  is  simg  as  well  as  preached.  The  singing  is  as 
essential  a  part  of  the  service  as  the  sermon.  Everybody 
likes  good  music,  especially  of  a  popular  sort.  Sunday  sees 
that  this  taste  is  gratified. 

The  Tabernacle  music  in  itself  is  enough  to  draw  the 
great  throngs  which  nightly  crowd  the  building.    The  choir 


MAKING  A  JOYFUL  NOISE 


263 


furnishes  not  only  the  melodies  but  also  a  rare  spectacle. 
This  splendid  regiment  of  helpers  seated  back  of  the  speaker 
affects  both  the  eyes  and  the  ears  of  the  audiences.  Without 
his  choirs  Sunday  could  scarcely  conduct  his  great  campaigns. 
These  helpers  are  all  volunteers,  and  their  steadfast  loyalty 
throughout  weeks  of  strenuous  meetings  in  all  kinds  of 
weather  is  a  Christian 
service  of  the  first 
order. 

True,  member- 
ship in  a  Sunday 
choir  is  in  itself  an 
avocation,  a  social 
and  religious  interest 
that  enriches  the 
lives  of  the  choir 
members.  They 
"belong"  to  some- 
thing big  and  popular. 
Theyhavenewthemes 
for  conversation. 
New  acquaintances 
are  made.  The  asso- 
ciations first  formed 
in  the  Sunday  choir 
have  in  many  cases 
continued  as  the 
most  sacred  relations 
of  life.  The  bright- 
est spot  in  the  monotony  of  many  a  young  person's  life  has 
been  his  or  her  membership  in  the  Billy  Sunday  choir. 

The  choir  also  has  the  advantage  of  a  musical  drill  and 
experience  which  could  be  secured  in  no  other  fashion.  All 
the  advantages  of  trained  leadership  are  given  in  return  for 
the  volunteer  service.  Incidentally,  the  choir  members 
know  that  they  are  serving  their  churches  and  their  com- 
munities in  a  deep  and  far-reaching  fashion. 


'Some  op  These  High-Peicbd  Sopranos  Get 

UP  IN  Chuech  and  Make]  a  Noise 

Like  a  Horse  NEiamNG.V 


264  JMAKENG  A  JOYFUL  NOISE 

Many  visitors  to  the  Sunday  Tabernacle  are  surprised 
to  find  that  the  music  is  of  such  fine  quality.  There  is  less 
"religious  rag-time"  than  is  commonly  associated  with  the 
idea  of  revival  meetings.  More  than  a  fair  half  of  the 
music  sung  is  that  which  holds  an  established  place  in  the 
hymnody  of  all  churches. 

There  is  more  to  the  music  of  a  campaign  than  the 
volume  of  singing  by  the  choir,  with  an  occasional  solo  by 
the  chorister  or  some  chosen  person.  A  variety  of  ingenious 
devices  are  employed  to  heighten  the  impression  of  the  music. 
Thus  a  common  antiphonal  effect  is  obtained  by  having 
the  choir  sing  one  line  of  a  hymn  and  the  last  ten  rows  of 
persons  in  the  rear  of  the  Tabernacle  sing  the  answering  line. 
The  old  hymn  "For  You  I  am  Praying"  is  used  with 
electrical  effect  in  this  fashion.  Part  singing  is  employed 
in  ways  that  are  possible  only  to  such  a  large  chorus  as  the 
musical  •  director  of  the  Sunday  campaigns  has  at  his  com- 
mand. 

A  genius  for  mutuality  characterizes  the  Sunday  song 
services.  The  audiences  are  given  a  share  in  the  music. 
Not  only  are  they  requested  to  join  in  the  singing,  but  they 
are  permitted  to  choose  their  favorite  hymns,  and  frequently 
the  choir  is  called  upon  to  listen  while  the  audience  sings. 

Various  delegations  are  permitted  to  sing  hymns  of 
their  own  choice.  Diversity,  and  variety  and  vim  seem  to  be 
the  objective  of  the  musical  part  of  the  program.  From 
half  an  hoiu*  to  an  hour  of  this  varied  music  introduces  each 
service.  When  the  evangelist  himself  is  ready  to  preach, 
the  crowd  has  been  worked  up  into  a  glow  and  fervor  that 
make  it  receptive  to  his  message. 

If  some  stickler  for  ritual  and  stateliness  objects 
that  these  services  are  entirely  too  informal,  and  too  much 
like  a  political  campaign,  the  partisan  of  Mr.  Sunday  will 
heartily  assent.  These  are  great  American  crowds  in  their 
every-day  humor.  These  evangelistic  meetings  are  not 
regular  church  services.  It  has  already  been  made  plain 
that  there  is  no  "dim  religious  light"  about  the  Sunday 
Tabernacle  meetings. 


MAKING  A  JOYFUL  NOISE  265 

It  is  a  tribute  to  the  comprehensiveness  of  the  Sunday 
inethod  that  they  bring  together  the  most  representative 
gatherings  imaginable  every  day  under  the  unadorned 
rafters  of  the  big  wooden  shell  called  the  Tabernacle. 
Shrewdly,  the  evangelist  has  made  sure  of  the  democratic 
quality  of  his  congregation.  He  has  succeeded  in  having 
the  gospel  sing  its  way  into  the  affection  and  interest  of 
every-day  folk. 

It  is  no  valid  objection  to  the  Sunday  music  that  it  is 
so  thoroughly  entertaining.  The  Tabernacle  crowds  sing, 
not  as  a  religious  duty,  but  for  the  sheer  joy  of  singing. 
One  of  the  commonest  remarks  heard  amid  the  crowd  is  "I 
never  expect  to  hear  such  singing  again  till  I  get  to  Heaven." 
It  is  real  Christian  ministry  to  put  the  melodies  of  the 
Gospel  into  the  memories  of  the  multitudes,  and  to  brighten 
with  the  songs  of  salvation  the  gray  days  of  the  burden- 
bearers  of  the  world.  Boys  and  men  on  the  street  whistle 
Gospel  songs.  The  echoes  of  Tabernacle  music  may  be 
heard  long  after  Mr.  Sunday  has  gone  from  a  community 
in  ten  thousand  kitchens  and  in  the  shops  and  factories  and 
stores  of  the  community.  This  is  the  strategy  of  "the  expul- 
sive power  of  a  new  affection."  These  meetings  give  to 
Christians  a  new  and  jubilant  affirmation,  instead  of  a  mere 
defense  for  their  faith.  The  campaign  music  carries  the 
campaign  message  farther  than  the  voice  of  any  man  could 
ever  penetrate. 

Upon  the  place  of  music  in  the  Christian  life  Sunday 
says:  "For  sixteen  years  therehad  been  nosongs  in  Jerusalem. 
It  must  have  been  a  great  loss  to  the  Jews,  for  everywhere 
we  read  we  find  them  singing.  They  sang  all  the  way  to  the 
Red  Sea,  they  sang  when  Jesus  was  born,  tJiey  sang  at  the 
Last  Supper  and  when  Jesus  was  arisen. 

"Song  has  always  been  inseparably  associated  with  the 
advancement  of  God's  word.  You'll  find  when  religion 
is  at  low  ebb  the  song  will  cease.  Many  of  the  great  revivals 
have  been  almost  entirely  song.  The  great  Welsh  revival 
was  mostly  song.     In  the  movements  of  Martin  Luther, 


266  MAKING  A  JOYFUL  NOISE 

Wesley,  Moody  and  Torrey  you  will  find  abundance  of 
song.  When  a  church  congregation  gets  at  such  low  ebb 
that  they  can't  sing  and  have  to  hire  a  professional  choir 
to  sing  for  them,  they  haven't  got  much  religion.  And 
some  of  those  choir  members  are  so  stuck  up  they  won't  sing 
in  a  chorus.  If  I  had  a  bunch  like  that  they'd  quit  or  I 
would. 

"Take  the  twenty-fourth  Psalm,  'Lift  up  your  heads, 

0  ye  gates,'  and  the  thirty-third  Psalm.  They  were  written 
by  David  to  be  sung  in  the  temple. 

"I  can  imagine  his  singing  them  now.  They  were 
David's  own  experiences.  Look  at  them.  Now  you  hear 
an  old  lobster  get  up  to  give  an  experience,  'Forty  years  ago 

1  started  forth — .'     The  same  old  stereotyped  form. 

"There's  many  a  life  today  which  has  no  song.  The 
most  popular  song  for  most  of  you  would  be, 

"  'Where  is  that  joy  which  once  I  knew, 
When  first  I  loved  the  Lord?'" 

Right  behind  you  where  you  left  it  when  you  went  to  that 
card  party;  right  where  you  left  it  when  you  began  to  go  to 
the  theater;  right  where  you  left  it  when  you  side-stepped 
and  backshd;  right  where  you  left  it  when  you  began  paying 
one  hundred  dollars  for  a  dress  and  gave  twenty-five  cents  to 
the  Lord;  right  where  you  left  it  when  you  began  to  gossip." 


CHAPTER  XXI 
The  Prophet  and  His  Own  Time 

There  wouldn't  be  so  many  non-church  goers  if  there  were  not  so  many 
non-going  churches. — BnxT  Sunday. 

A  PROPHET  to  his  own  generation  is  Billy  Sunday. 
In  the  speech  of  today  he  arraigns  the  sins  of  today 
and  seeks  to  satisfy  the  needs  of  today.  A  man 
singularly  free  and  fearless,  he  appUes  the  Gospel  to  the 
conditions  of  the  present  moment.  Khowing  Ufe  on  various 
levels,  he  preaches  with  a  definiteness  and  an  appropriate- 
ness that  echo  the  prophet  Nathan's  "Thou  art  the  man." 
By  the  very  structure  of  Billy  Sunday's  mentaUty  it  is 
made  diflScult  for  him  to  be  abstract.  He  has  to  deal 
definitely  with  concrete  sins. 

Now  a  pastor  would  find  it  difficult  to  approach,  in 
the  ruthless  and  reckless  fashion  of  Billy  Sunday,  the  short- 
comings of  his  members  and  neighbors.  He  has  to  five  with 
his  congregation,  year  in  and  year  out;  but  the  evangehst 
is  as  irresponsible  as  John  the  Baptist  on  the  banks  of  the 
Jordan.  He  has  no  affihations  to  consider  and  no  conse- 
quences to  fear,  except  the  Kingdom's  welfare.  His  only 
concern  is  for  the  truth  and  apphcabihty  of  his  message. 
He  is  perfectly  heedless  about  offending  hearers.  Those 
well-meaning  persons  who  would  compare  Billy  Sunday  with 
the  average  pastor  should  bear  this  in  mind. 

A  rare  gift  of  satire  and  scorn  and  invective  and  ridicule 
has  been  given  to  Sunday.  He  has  been  equipped  with 
powerful  weapons  which  are  too  often  missing  from  the 
armory  of  the  average  Gospel  soldier.  His  aptitude  for 
puncturing  sham  is  almost  without  a  peer  in  contemporary 
life.  Few  orators  in  any  field  have  his  art  of  heaping  up 
adjectives  to  a  towering  height  that  overwhelms  theii 
objective= 


268      THE  PROPHET  AND  HIS  OWN  TIME 

Nor  does  the  Church  escape  Sunday's  plain  dealing. 
He  treats  vigorously  her  shortcomings  and  her  imperfec- 
tions. Usually,  the  persons  who  hear  the  first  haK  dozen 
or  dozen  sermons  in  one  of  his  campaigns  are  shocked  by 
the  reckless  way  in  which  the  evangelist  handles  the  Church 
and  church  members. 

Others,  forewarned,  perceive  the  psychology  of  it. 
It  is  clear  that  in  Sunday's  thinking  the  purity  of  the  Church 
is  all-important.  Complacency  with  any  degree  of  corrup- 
tion or  inefficiency  on  her  part  he  would  regard  as  sin. 
So  he  unsparingly  belabors  the  Church  and  her  ministry 
for  all  the  good  that  they  have  left  undone  and  all  amiss 
that  they  have  done. 

The  net  result  of  this  is  that  the  evangeUst  leaves  on 
the  minds  of  the  multitudes,  to  whom  the  Church  has  been 
a  negUgible  quantity,  a  tremendous  impression  of  her  pre- 
eminent importance.  It  is  true  that  sometimes,  after  a  Sun- 
day campaign,  a  few  ministers  have  to  leave  their  churches, 
because  of  the  new  spirit  of  efficiency  and  spirituaHty  which 
he  has  imparted.  They  have  simply  been  unable  to  measure 
up  to  the  new  opportunity.  On  the  whole,  however,  it  is 
clear  that  he  imparts  a  new  sense  of  dignity  and  a  new  field 
of  leadership  to  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  in  the  com- 
munities he  has  served.  Testimony  on  this  point  seems  to 
be  conclusive. 

Given  prophets  of  today,  with  the  conviction  that  both 
Church  and  social  life  should  square  with  the  teaching  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  you  have  revolutionary  possibilities  for 
any  comimunity.  Fair  samples  of  Sunday's  treatment  of 
the  Church  and  of  society  are  these : 

"There  is  but  one  voice  from  the  faithful  preacher 
about  the  Church — that  is  she  is  sick.  But  we  say  it  in  such 
painless,  delicate  terms;  we  work  with  such  tender  massage, 
that  she  seems  to  enjoy  her  invahdism.  I'm  coming  with 
my  scalpel  to  cut  into  the  old  sores  and  ulcers  and  drive 
them  out.  I  feel  the  pulse  and  say  it's  pus  temperature. 
The  temperature's  high.     I'm  trying  to  remove  from  the 


THE  PROPHET  AND  HIS  OWN  TIME      269 

Church  the  putrefying  abscess  which  is  boring  into  its  vitals. 
About  four  out  of  every  five  who  have  their  names  on  our 
church  records  are  doing  absolutely  nothing  to  bring  any- 
body to  Christ  and  the  Church  is  not  a  whit  better  for  their 
having  lived  in  it.  Christians  are  making  a  great  deal  of 
Lent.  I  beheve  in  Lent.  I'll  tell  you  what  kind,  though. 
I  beUeve  m  a  Lent  that  is  kept  365  days  in  the  year  for  Jesus 
Christ.  That  is  the  kind  I  like  to  see.  Some  people  will  go 
to  hell  sure  if  they  die  out  of  the  Lenten  season.  I  hate  to 
see  a  man  get  enough  reUgion  in  forty  days  to  last  him  and 
then  live  like  the  devil  the  rest  of  the  year.  If  you  can 
reform  for  forty  days  you  can  reform  for  the  year. 

''The  Jewish  Church  ran  up  against  this  snag  and  was 
wrecked.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  ran  up  against  it 
and  split.  All  of  the  churches  today  are  fast  approaching 
the  same  doom. 

"The  dangers  to  the  Church,  as  I  see  them,  are  assimila- 
tion with  the  world,  the  neglect  of  the  poor,  substitution 
of  forms  for  godliness;  and  all  summed  up  mean  a  fashionable 
church  with  reUgion  left  out.  Formerly  Methodists  used 
to  attend  class  meetings.  Now  these  are  abandoned  in 
many  churches.  Formerly  shouts  of  praise  were  heard. 
Now  such  holy  demonstration  is  considered  undignified. 
Once  in  a  while  some  good,  godly  sister  forgets  herself  and 
pipes  out  in  a  falsetto,  apologetic  sort  of  a  key:  'Amen, 
Brother  Sunday.'  I  don't  expect  any  of  those  ossified,  petri- 
fied, dj'^ed-in-the-wool,  stamped-on-the-cork  Presbyterians 
or  EpiscopaUans  to  shout,  'Amen,'  but  it  would  do  you  good 
and  loosen  you  up.  It  won't  hurt  you  a  bit.  You  are  hide- 
bound. I  think  about  half  the  professing  Christians  amount 
to  nothing  as  a  spiritual  force.  They  have  a  kind  regard  for 
religion,  but  as  for  evangeUcal  service,  as  for  a  cheerful 
spirit  of  self-denial,  as  for  prevailing  prayer,  willingness  to 
strike  hard  blows  against  the  devil,  they  are  almost  a  failure. 
I  read  the  other  day  of  a  shell  which  had  been  invented 
which  is  hurled  on  a  ship  and  when  it  explodes  it  puts  all  on 
board  asleep.  I  sometimes  think  one  of  these  shells  has  hit 
the  Church. 


270      THE  PROPHET  AND  HIS  OWN  TIME 

"What  are  some  people  going  to  do  about  the  Judgment? 
Some  are  just  in  life  for  the  money  they  get  out  of  it.  They 
will  tell  you  north  is  south  if  they  think  they  can  get  a 
dollar  by  it.  They  float  get-rich-quick  schemes  and  any- 
thing for  money.  I  haven't  a  word  to  say  about  a  man  who 
has  earned  his  money  honestly,  uses  it  to  provide  for  his 
family  and  spends  the  siu*plus  for  good.  You  know  there  is  a 
bunch  of  mutts  that  sit  around  on  stools  and  whittle  and  spit 
and  cuss  and  damn  and  say  that  every  man  who  has  an 
honest  dollar  ought  to  divide  it  with  them,  while  others  get 
out  and  get  busy  and  work  and  sweat  and  toil  and  prepare 
to  leave  something  for  their  wives  and  families  when  they 
die,  and  spend  the  rest  for  good. 

"Old  Commodore  Vanderbilt  had  a  fortune  of  over 
$200,000,000,  and  one  day  when  he  was  ill  he  sent  for  Dr. 
Deems.    He  asked  him  to  sing  for  him  that  old  song: 


'Come,  ye  sinners,  poor  and  needy, 
Come,  ye  wounded,  sick  and  sore.' 


The  old  commodore  tossed  from  side  to  side,  looked  around 
at  the  evidence  of  his  wealth,  and  he  said:  'That's  what 
I  am,  poor  and  needy.'  Who?  Commodore  Vanderbilt 
poor  and  needy  with  his  $200,000,000?  The  foundation 
of  that  fabulous  fortune  was  laid  by  him  when  he  poled  a 
yawl  from  New  York  to  Staten  Island  and  picked  up  pennies 
for  doing  it.  The  foundation  of  the  immense  Astor  fortune 
was  laid  by  John  Jacob  Astor  when  he  went  out  and  bought 
fur  and  hides  from  trappers  and  put  the  money  in  New  York 
real  estate.  The  next  day  in  the  street  one  man  said  to 
another:  'Have  you  heard  the  news?  Commodore  Vander- 
bilt is  dead.'     'How  much  did  he  leave?'     'He  left  it  all.' 

"Naked  you  came  into  this  world,  and  naked  you  will 
crawl  out  of  it.  You  brought  nothing  into  the  world  and  you 
will  take  nothing  out,  and  if  you  have  put  the  pack  screws 
on  the  poor  and  piled  up  a  pile  of  gold  as  big  as  a  house 
you  can't  take  it  with  you.  It  wouldn't  do  you  any  good  if 
you  could,  because  it  would  melt." 


CHAPTER  XXII 
Those  Billy  Sunday  Prayers 

I  never  preach  a  sermon  until  I  have  soaked  it  in  prayer. — Billy 
Sunday. 

CONCERNING  the  prayers  of  Sunday  there  is  httle 
to  be  said  except  to  quote  samples  of  them  and  let 
the  reader  judge  for  himself. 

That  they  are  unconventional  no  one  will  deny;  many 
have  gone  farther  and  have  said  that  they  are  almost 
sacrilegious.  The  charge  has  often  been  made  that  the 
evangelist  addresses  his  prayers  to  the  crowd  instead  of  to 
God.  No  one  criticism  has  oftener  been  made  of  Mr.  Sun- 
day by  sensitive  and  thoughtful  ministers  of  the  Gospel, 
than  that  his  public  prayers  seem  to  be  lacking  in  funda- 
mental reverence. 

The  defender  of  Sunday  rejoins,  "He  talks  to 
Jesus  as  famiharly  as  he  talks  to  one  of  his  associates." 
Really,  though,  there  is  deep  difference.  His  fellow-workers 
are  only  fellow-workers,  but  of  the  Lord,  "Holy  and 
reverend  is  his  name."  Many  of  the  warmest  admirers  of 
the  evangeUst  do  not  attempt  to  defend  all  of  his  prayers. 

Probably  Sunday  does  not  know  that  in  all  the 
Oriental,  and  some  European,  languages  there  is  a  special 
form  of  speech  reserved  for  royalty;  and  that  it  would  be 
an  affront  to  address  a  king  by  the  same  term  as  the  com- 
moner. The  outward  signs  of  this  mental  attitude  of 
reverence  in  prayer  are  unquestionably  lacking  in  Sunday. 

His  usual  procedure  is  to  begin  to  pray  at  the  end  of 
a  sermon,  without  any  interval  or  any  prefatory  remarks, 
such  as  "Let  us  pray."  For  an  instant,  the  crowd  does 
not  realize  that  he  is  praying.  He  closes  his  eyes  and  says, 
"Now  Jesus,  you  know,"  and  so  forth,  just  as  he  would  say 
to  the  chorister,  "Rody,  what  is  the  name  of  that  delega- 

(271) 


272         THOSE  BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS 

tion?"  Indeed,  I  have  heard  him  interject  just  this  inquiry 
into  a  prayer.  Or  he  will  mention  "that  Bible  class  over  to 
my  right,  near  the  platform."  He  will  use  the  same 
colloquial  figures  of  speech  in  a  prayer — base-ball  phrases, 
for  instance — that  he  does  in  his  sermons.  Sometimes  it  is 
really  difiicult  to  tell  whether  he  is  addressing  the  Lord  or 
the  audience. 

More  direct  famihar,  childish  petitions  were  never 
addressed  to  the  Deity  than  are  heard  at  the  Sunday  meet- 
ings. They  run  so  counter  to  all  reUgious  conceptions  of  a 
reverential  approach  to  the  throne  of  grace  that  one  mar- 
vels at  the  charity  of  the  ministers  in  letting  him  go  imre- 
buked.  But  they  say  "It's  Billy,"  and  so  it  is.  That  is 
the  way  the  man  prays  in  private,  for  I  have  heard  him 
in  his  own  room,  before  starting  out  to  preach;  and  in 
entirely  the  same  intimate,  unconventional  fashion  he  asks 
the  help  of  Jesus  in  his  preaching  and  in  the  meetings. 
But  to  the  prayers  themselves: 

"0  God,  help  this  old  world.  May  the  men  who  have 
been  drunkards  be  made  better;  may  the  men  who  beat 
their  wives  and  curse  their  children  come  to  Jesus;  may 
the  children  who  have  feared  to  hear  the  footsteps  of  their 
father,  rejoice  again  when  they  see  the  parent  coming  up 
the  steps  of  the  home.  Bring  the  Church  up  to  help  the 
work.  Bless  them.  Lord.  Bless  the  preachers:  bless  the 
officials  of  the  Church  and  bless  everyone  in  them.  Save 
the  men  in  the  mines.  Save  the  poor  breaker  boys  as  they 
toil  day  by  day  in  dangers;  save  them  for  their  mothers 
and  fathers  and  bring  them  to  Jesus.  Bless  the  poUcemen, 
the  newspapermen  and  the  men,  women  and  children;  the 
men  and  girls  from  the  plants,  factories,  stores  and  streets. 
Go  into  the  stores  every  morning  and  have  prayer  meetings 
so  that  the  clerks  may  hear  the  Word  of  God  before  they 
get  behind  the  counters  and  sell  goods  to  the  trade. 

"Visit  this  city,  0  Lord,  its  schools  and  scholars,  and 
bless  the  school  board.     Bless  the  city  officials.     Go  down 


THOSE  BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS  273 

into  the  city  hall  and  bless  the  mayor,  directors  and  all  the 
rest.  We  thank  thee  that  the  storm  has  passed.  We 
beheve  that  we  will  learn  a  lesson  of  how  helpless  we  are 
before  thee.  How  chesty  we  are  when  the  sim  shines  and 
the  day  is  clear,  but,  oh!  how  helpless  when  the  breath  of 
God  comes  and  the  snowflakes  start  to  fall;  when  the  floods 
come  we  get  on  our  knees  and  wring  om*  hands  and  ask 
mercy  from  thee.     Oh,  help  us,  O  Lord. 

"When  the  people  get  to  hell — I  hope  that  nobody  will 
ever  go  there  and  I  am  trying  my  best  to  save  them — they 
will  know  that  they  are  there  because  they  Hved  against 
God.  I  am  not  here  to  injure  them;  I  am  not  here  to  wreck 
homes;  I  am  here  to  tell  them  of  the  blessing  you  send  down 
when  they  are  with  you.  We  pray  for  the  thousands  and 
thousands  that  will  be  saved." 

"Thank  you,  Jesus.  I  came  to  you  twenty-seven  years 
ago  for  salvation  and  I  got  salvation.  Thank  the  Lord  I 
can  look  in  the  face  of  every  man  and  woman  of  God  every- 
where and  say  that  for  all  those  years  I  have  lived  in 
salvation.  Not  that  I  take  any  credit  to  myself  for  that; 
it  was  nothing  inherent  in  me;  it  was  the  power  of  God  that 
saved  me  and  kept  me. 

"0  Lord,  sweep  over  this  town  and  save  the  business 
men  of  this  community,  the  young  men  and  women.  0 
God,  save  us  all  from  the  cesspools  of  hell  and  corruption. 
Help  me.  Lord,  as  I  hurl  consternation  into  the  ranks  of 
that  miserable,  God-forsaken  crew  who  are  feeding,  fattening 
and  gormandizing  on  the  people!  Get  everybody  interested 
in  honesty  and  decency  and  sobriety  and  make  them  fight 
to  the  last  ditch  for  God.  There  are  too  many  cowards, 
four-flushers  in  the  Church." 

"0  Jesus,  we  thank  God  that  you  came  into  this  old 
world  to  save  sinners.  Keep  us,  Lord.  Hear  us,  0  God, 
ere  we  stumble  on  in  darkness.  Lead  the  hundreds  here  to 
thy  throne.     Help  the  professing  Christians  who  have  not 

(8 


274         THOSE  BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS 

done  as  they  should  in  the  past,  to  come  down  this  trail 
and  take  a  more  determined  stand  for  thee.  Help  the  official 
boards,  the  trustees  of  our  churches,  to  show  the  way  to 
hundreds  by  themselves  confessing  sin.  Help  them  to  say, 
'0  Lord,  I  haven't  been  square  with  thee.  It  is  possible 
for  me  to  improve  my  business  and  I  can  certainly  improve 
my  service  to  thee.  I  know  and  I  believe  in  God  and  I 
believe  in  hell  and  heaven.'  Lead  them  down  the  trail, 
Lord." 

"0  Lord,  there  are  a  lot  of  people  who  step  up  to  the 
collection  plate  at  church  and  fan.  And  Lord,  there  are 
always  people  sitting  in  the  grandstand  and  calling  the 
batter  a  mutt.  He  can't  hit  a  thing  or  he  can't  get  it  over 
the  base,  or  he's  an  ice  wagon  on  the  bases,  they  say.  0 
Lord,  give  us  some  coachers  out  at  this  Tabernacle  so  that 
people  can  be  brought  home  to  you.  Some  of  them  are  dying 
on  second  and  third  base.  Lord,  and  we  don't  want  that. 
Lord,  have  the  people  play  the  game  of  life  right  up  to  the 
limit  so  that  home  runs  may  be  scored.  There  are  some 
people.  Lord,  who  say,  'Yes,  I  have  heard  Billy  at  the  Taber- 
nacle and  oh,  it  is  so  disgusting:  really  it's  awful  the  way  he 
talks.'  Lord,  if  there  weren't  some  grouches  and  the  like 
in  the  city  I'd  be  lost.  We  had  a  grand  meeting  last  night. 
Lord,  when  the  crowd  come  down  from  Dicksonville  (or 
what  was  that  place,  Rody?),  Dickson  City,  Lord,  that's 
right.  It  was  a  great  crowd.  There's  an  undercurrent  of 
religion  sweeping  through  here.  Lord,  and  we  are  getting 
along  fine. 

"There  are  some  dandy  folks  in  Scran  ton,  lots  of  good 
men  and  women  that  are  with  us  in  this  campaign,  and  Lord, 
we  want  you  to  help  make  this  a  wonderful  campaign.  It 
has  been  wonderful  so  far.  Lord,  it's  great  to  see  them  pour- 
ing in  here  night  after  night.  God,  you  have  the  people 
of  the  homes  tell  their  maids  to  go  to  the  meeting  at  the 
Y.  W.  C.  A.  Thursday  afternoon,  and  God,  let  us  have  a 
crowd  of  the  children  here  Saturday.    Rody  is  going  to  talk 


THOSE  BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS  276 

to  them,  Lord.  He  can't  preach  and  I  can't  sing,  but  the 
children  will  have  a  big  time  with  him,  Lord.  Lord,  I  won't 
try  to  stop  people  from  roasting  and  scoring  me.  I  would 
not  know  what  to  do  if  I  didn't  get  some  cracks  from  people 
now  and  then." 

"Well,  Jesus,  I  don't  know  how  to  talk  as  I  would  like 
to  talk.  I  am  at  a  loss  as  to  just  what  to  say  tonight.  Father, 
if  you  hadn't  provided  salvation,  we'd  all  be  pretty  badly 
off.  Knowing  the  kind  of  life  I  live  and  the  kind  of  lives 
other  people  live,  I  know  you  are  very  patient  and  kind,  but 
if  you  can  do  for  men  and  women  what  you  did  for  me,  I 
wish  it  would  happen.  I  wouldn't  dare  stand  up  and  say 
that  I  didn't  believe  in  you.  I'd  be  afraid  you'd  knock  me 
in  the  head.  I'd  be  afraid  you'd  paralyze  me  or  take  away 
my  mind.  I'm  afraid  you'd  do  that.  There  are  hundreds 
here  tonight  who  don't  know  you  as  their  Saviom*.  The 
Bible  class  believes  you  are  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  but  they 
don't  know  you  as  their  personal  Saviour.  And  these 
other  delegations.  Lord,  help  them  all  to  come  down.  Well, 
well,  well,  it's  wonderful — 'I  find  no  fault  in  Him.'    Amen." 

"Oh,  devil,  why  do  you  hit  us  when  we  are  down? 
Old  boy,  I  know  that  you  have  no  time  for  me  and  I  guess 
you  have  about  learned  that  I  have  no  time  for  you.  I  will 
never  apologize  to  you  for  anything  I  have  done  against  you. 
If  I  have  ever  said  anything  that  does  not  hurt  you,  tell  me 
about  it  and  I  will  take  it  out  of  my  sermon." 

"We  thank  thee,  Jesus,  for  that  manifestation  of  thy 
power  in  one  of  the  big  factories  of  the  city.  Lord,  we  are 
told  that  of  eighty  men  who  used  to  go  to  a  saloon  for  their 
lunch  seventy-nine  go  there  no  more.  All  these  men  heard 
the  'booze'  sermon.  Lord,  they  are  working  on  the  one 
man  who  is  "standing  out  and  they'll  get  him,  too.  The 
saloon-keeper  is  standing  with  arms  akimbo  behind  the  bar, 
but  his  old  customers  give  the  place  the  go-by.  Thank 
you,  Jesus." 


276         THOSE  BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS 

"Well,  Jesus,  I've  been  back  in  Capernaum  tonight, 
I've  been  with  you  when  you  cast  the  devil  out  of  that  man. 
They  all  said,  'We  know  you're  helping  us,  but  you're  hurting 
the  hog  business. '  I've  been  with  you  when  you  got  in  the 
boat.    And  Jesus  arose  and  said  to  the  sea:  'Peace,  be  still. ' 

"Ah,  look  at  her.  Bless  her  heart.  There  comes  that 
poor,  crying  woman. 

"Say,  Jesus,  here  are  men  who  have  been  drunkards. 
They  have  been  in  our  prayers.  They  have  been  in  our 
sermons.    If  I  could  just  touch  Him.    He's  here." 

"Well,  thank  you,  Lord.  It's  all  true.  I  expect 
this  sermon  has  caused  many  men  and  women  to  look  into 
their  hearts.  Perhaps  they  are  powerless,  helpless  for  the 
Church.  0  God,  what  it  will  mean  to  people  in  the  cause  of 
Christ  all  over  this  city!  We  appreciate  their  kind  words, 
but  we  wish  they  would  do  more. 

"0  God,  may  some  deacons,  elders,  vestrymen,  come 
out  for  God  this  afternoon.  May  they  come  down  these 
aisles  and  pubhcly  acknowledge  themselves  for  God.  Help 
them,  then,  we  pray,  for  Jeisus'  sake.    Amen." 

"Now,  Lord,  I'm  not  here  to  have  a  good  time.  I  am 
here  to  show  what  you  are  doing  for  these  people  and  to  tell 
them  that  you  are  willing  to  save  them  and  to  bear  their 
burdens  if  they  will  give  their  hearts  to  you." 

"Well,  Jesus,  I'm  not  up  in  heaven  yet.  I  don't  want 
to  go,  not  yet.  I  know  it's  an  awful  pretty  place.  Lord.  I 
know  you'll  look  after  me  when  I  get  there.  But,  Jesus,  I'd 
like  to  stay  here  a  long  time  yet.  I  don't  want  to  leave  Nell 
and  the  children.  I  like  the  little  bungalow  we  have  out  at 
the  lake.  I  know  you'll  have  a  prettier  one  up  there.  If 
you'll  let  me,  Jesus,  I'd  like  to  stay  here,  and  I'll  work 
harder  for  you  if  I  can.  I  know  I'll  go  there,  Jesus,  and  I 
know  there's  lots  of  men  and  women  here  in  this  Tabernacle 
tonight  who  won't  go. 


THOSE  BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS         277 

''Solomon  found  it  was  all  vanity  and  vexation  of 
spirit.  They're  living  that  way  today,  Jesus.  I  say  that 
to  you  here  tonight,  banker;  to  you,  Commercial  Club;  to 
you,  men  from  the  stockyards.  If  you  want  to  live  right, 
choose  Jesus  as  your  Saviour,  for  man's  highest  happiness 
is  his  obedience  to  Jesus  Christ.  And  now,  while  we're  all 
still,  who'll  come  down  and  say  'I'm  looking  above  the 
world?'  Solomon  said  it  was  all  vanity.  Why  certainly, 
you  poor  fool.  He  knew.  But  I'm  glad  you  saw  the  Hght, 
Solomon,  and  spread  out  yoiu*  wings." 

"O  Lord,  bend  over  the  battlements  of  glory  and 
hear  the  cry  of  old  Pittsburgh.  0  Lord,  do  you  hear  us? 
Lord,  save  tens  of  thousands  of  souls  in  this  old  city.  Lord, 
everybody  is  helping.  Lord,  they  are  keeping  their  churches 
closed  so  tight  that  a  burglar  couldn't  get  in  with  a  jimmy. 
Lord,  the  angels  will  shout  to  glory  and  the  old  devil  will 
say,  '  What  did  they  shut  up  the  churches  of  Pittsburgh  for, 
when  they  have  so  many  good  preachers,  and  build  a  Taber- 
nacle and  bring  a  man  on  here  to  take  the  people  away  from 
me?  0  Lord,  we'll  win  this  whisky-soaked,  vice-ridden  old 
city  of  Pittsburgh  and  lay  it  at  your  feet  and  purify  it  until 
it  is  like  paraflSne." 

Sunday's  sermon  on  prayer  is  entitled, 

"TEACH  US  TO  PRAY" 

We  live  and  develop  physically  by  exercise.  We  are 
saved  by  faith,  but  we  must  work  out  our  salvation  by  doing 
the  things  God  wills.  The  more  we  do  for  God,  the  more 
God  will  do  through  us.     Faith  will  increase  by  experience. 

If  you  are  a  stranger  to  prayer  you  are  a  stranger  to  the 
greatest  source  of  power  known  to  human  beings.  If  we 
cared  for  our  physical  hfe  in  the  same  lackadaisical  way  that 
we  care  for  our  spiritual,  we  would  be  as  weak  physically 
as  we  are  spiritually.  You  go  week  in  and  week  out  without 
prayer.    I  want  to  be  a  giant  for  God.    You  don't  even  sing; 


278  THOSE  BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS 

you  let  the  choir  do  it.  You  go  to  prayer-meeting  and  oJBfer 
no  testimony. 

You  are  a  stranger  to  the  great  privilege  that  is  offered 
to  human  beings.  Some  of  the  greatest  blessings  that 
people  enjoy  come  from  prayer.  In  earnest  prayer  you  think 
as  the  Lord  directs,  and  lose  yourself  in  him. 

Some  people  say:  "It's  no  use  to  pray.  The  Lord 
knows  everything,  anyway."  That's  true.  He  does.  He 
is  not  limited,  as  I  am  limited.  He  knows  everything  and 
has  known  it  since  before  the  world  was.  We  don't  know 
everybody  who  is  going  to  be  converted  at  this  revival,  but 
that  doesn't  relieve  us  of  our  duty.  We  don't  know,  and  we 
must  do  the  work  he  has  commanded  us  to  do. 

Others  say:  "But  I  don't  get  what  I  pray  for."  Well, 
there's  a  cause  for  everything.  Get  at  the  cause  and  you'll 
be  all  right.  If  you  are  sick  and  send  for  the  doctor,  he  pays 
no  attention  to  the  disease,  but  looks  at  what  produced  it. 
If  you  have  a  headache,  don't  rub  your  forehead.  In  Mat- 
thew it  is  written,  "Ask  and  it  shall  be  given  you ;  seek  and  ye 
shall  find;  knock  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you."  If  your 
prayers  are  not  answered  you  are  not  right  with  God.  If 
you  have  no  faith,  if  your  motive  is  wrong,  then  your  prayers 
will  be  in  vain.  Many  times  when  people  pray  they  are 
selfish.  They  are  not  gripping  the  word.  I  believe  that 
when  many  a  wife  prays  for  the  conversion  of  her  husband 
it  isn't  because  she  really  desires  the  salvation  of  his  soul, 
but  because  she  thinks  if  he  were  converted  things  would  be 
easier  for  her  personally.  Pray  for  your  neighbors  as  well 
as  your  own  family.  The  pastor  of  one  church  does  not 
pray  for  the  congregation  of  another  denomination.  I'm 
not  saying  anything  against  denominations.  I  believe  in 
them.  I  beheve  they  are  of  God.  Denominations  represent 
different  temperaments.  A  man  with  warm  emotions 
would  not  make  a  good  Episcopalian,  but  he  would  make  a 
crackerjack  Methodist.  Oh,  the  curse  of  selfishness!  The 
Church  is  dying  for  religion,  for  religion  pure  and  undefiled. 
Pure  rehgion  and  undefiled  is  visiting  the  widow  and  the 


THOSE  BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS  279 

fatherless  and  doing  the  will  of  God  without  so  much  thought 
of  yourself.  I  tell  you,  a  lot  of  people  are  going  to  be  fooled 
the  Day  of  Judgment. 

Isaiah  says  the  hand  of  God  is  not  shortened  and  his 
ear  is  not  deaf.  No,  his  hand  is  not  shortened  so  that  it 
cannot  save.  He  has  provided  agencies  by  which  we  can 
be  saved.  If  he  had  made  no  provision  for  your  salvation, 
then  the  trouble  would  be  with  God;  but  he  has,  so  if  you  go 
to  hell  the  trouble  will  be  with  you. 

In  Ezekiel  we  read  that  men  have  taken  idols  into  their 
tearts  and  put  stumbling-blocks  before  their  faces.  God 
is  not  going  to  hear  you  if  you  place  clothes,  money,  pride 
of  relationship  before  him.  You  know  there  is  sin  in  your 
life.  Many  people  know  there  is  sin  in  their  lives,  yet  ask 
God  to  bless  them.  They  ought  first  to  get  down  on  their 
knees  and  pray,  "God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner." 

Some  people  are  too  contemptibly  stingy  for  God  to 
hear  them.  God  won't  hear  you  if  you  stop  your  ears  to 
the  cries  of  the  poor.  You  drag  along  here  for  three  weeks 
and  raise  a  paltry  sum  that  a  circus  would  take  out  of  town 
in  two  hours.  When  they  give  things  to  the  poor  they  rip 
off  the  buttons  and  the  fine  braid.  Some  people  pick  out 
old  clothes  that  the  moths  have  made  into  sieves  and  give 
them  to  the  poor  and  think  they  are  charitable.  That 
isn't  charity,  no  sir;  it's  charity  when  you'll  give  something 
you'll  miss.    It's  charity  when  you  feel  it  to  give. 

And  when  you  stand  praying,  forgive  if  you  have  aught 
against  anyone.  It's  no  use  to  pray  if  you  have  a  mean, 
miserable  disposition,  if  you  are  grouchy,  if  you  quarrel  in 
your  home  or  with  your  neighbors. 

It's  no  use  to  pray  for  a  blessing  when  you  have  a  fuss 
on  with  your  neighbors.  It  doesn't  do  you  any  good. 
You  go  to  a  sewing  society  meeting  to  make  mosquito  netting 
for  the  Eskimo  and  blankets  for  the  Hottentots,  and 
instead  you  sit  and  chew  the  rag  and  rip  some  woman  up 
the  back.    The  spirit  of  God  flees  from  strife  and  discord. 

People  say:    "She  is  a  good  woman,  but  a  worldly 


280         THOSE  BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS 

Christian."  What?  Might  as  well  speak  of  a  heavenly 
devil.  Might  as  well  expect  a  mummy  to  speak  and  bear 
children  as  that  kind  to  move  the  world  God-ward.  Prayer 
draws  you  nearer  to  God. 

Learning  of  Christ 

"Teach  us  to  pray,"  impUes  that  I  want  to  be  taught. 
It's  a  great  privilege  to  be  taught  by  Jesus.  A  friend  of 
mine  was  preaching  out  in  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa,  and  had  to 
go  to  a  hospital  in  Chicago  for  an  operation,  and  I  was  asked 
to  go  and  preach  in  his  place.  Alexander  was  leading  the 
singing,  and  one  night  Charles  called  a  little  girl  out  of  the 
audience  to  sing.  She  didn't  look  over  four  or  five  years 
of  age,  though  she  might  have  been  a  little  older.  I  thought, 
"What's  the  use?  Her  little  voice  can  never  be  heard  over 
this  crowd."  But  CharUe  stood  her  up  in  a  chair  by  the 
pulpit  and  she  threw  back  her  head  and  out  rolled  some  of 
the  sweetest  music  I  have  ever  heard.  It  was  wonderful. 
I  sat  there  and  the  tears  streamed  down  my  cheeks.  That 
httle  girl  was  the  daughter  of  a  Northwestern  engineer  and 
he  took  her  to  Chicago  when  her  mother  was  away.  Some 
one  took  her  to  Patti.  Patti  took  the  Uttle  girl  to  one  of  her 
suite  of  rooms  and  told  her  to  stand  there  and  sing.  Then 
she  went  to  the  other  end  of  the  suite  and  sat  down  on  a 
divan  and  listened.  The  song  moved  her  to  tears.  She  ran 
and  hugged  and  kissed  the  little  girl  and  sat  her  down  on  the 
divan  and  said  to  her:  "Now  you  sit  here  and  I'll  go  over 
there  and  sing."  She  took  up  her  position  where  the  child 
had  stood,  and  she  lifted  her  magnificent  voice  and  she  sang 
"Home,  Sweet  Home"  and  "The  Last  Rose  of  Summer" — 
sang  them  for  that  Uttle  girl!  And  Patti  used  to  get  a  thou- 
sand dollars  for  a  song,  too.  She  always  knew  how  many 
songs  she  was  to  sing,  for  she  had  a  check  before  she  went  on 
the  platform.  It  was  a  great  privilege  the  little  daughter 
of  that  Northwestern  engineer  had,  but  it's  a  greater  privilege 
to  learn  from  Jesus  Christ  how  to  pray. 

A  friend  of  mine  told  me  he  went  to  hear  Paganini,  and 


THOSE  BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS         281 

the  great  violinist  broke  one  of  the  strings  of  his  instrument, 
then  another,  then  another,  until  he  had  only  one  left,  and 
on  that  one  he  played  so  wonderfully  that  his  audience  burst 
into  terrific  applause.  It  was  a  privilege  to  hear  that,  but 
it's  a  greater  privilege  to  have  Jesus  teach  you  to  pray. 

Let  us  take  a  few  examples  from  the  life  of  Christ.  In 
Mark  we  learn  that  he  rose  up  early  in  the  morning  and  went 
out  to  a  solitary  place  and  prayed.  He  began  every  day  with 
prayer.  You  never  get  up  without  dressing.  You  never 
forget  to  wash  your  face  and  comb  your  hair.  You  always 
think  of  breakfast.  You  feed  your  physical  body.  Why 
do  you  starve  your  spiritual  body?  If  nine-tenths  of  you 
were  as  weak  physically  as  you  are  spiritually,  you  couldn't 
walk. 

When  I  was  assistant  secretary  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  at 
Chicago,  John  G.  Paton  came  home  from  the  New  Hebrides 
and  was  lecturing  and  collecting  money.  He  was  raising 
money  to  buy  a  sea-going  steam  yacht,  for  his  work  took 
him  from  island  to  island  and  he  had  to  use  a  row-boat,  and 
sometimes  it  was  dangerous  when  the  weather  was  bad,  so 
he  wanted  the  yacht.  We  had  him  for  a  week,  and  it  was  my 
privilege  to  go  to  lunch  with  him.  We  would  go  out  to  a 
restaurant  at  noon  and  he  would  talk  to  us.  Sometimes 
there  would  be  as  many  as  fifteen  or  twenty  preachers  in  the 
crowd,  and  now  and  then  some  of  us  were  so  interested  in 
what  he  told  us  of  the  work  for  Jesus  in  those  far-away 
islands  that  we  forgot  to  eat.  I  remember  that  he  said  one 
day:  "All  that  I  am  I  owe  to  my  Christian  father  and 
mother.  My  father  was  one  of  the  most  prayerful  men  I 
ever  knew.  Often  in  the  daytime  he  would  slip  into  his 
closet,  and  he  would  drop  a  handkerchief  outside  the  door, 
and  when  we  children  saw  the  white  sentinel  we  knew  that 
father  was  talking  with  his  God  and  would  go  quietly  away. 
It  is  largely  because  of  the  life  and  influence  of  that  same 
saintly  father  that  I  am  preaching  to  the  cannibals  in  the 
South  Seas."  It  is  an  insult  to  God  and  a  disgrace  to  allow 
children  to  grow  up  without  throwing  Christian  influences 


282         THOSE  BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS 

around  them.  Seven-tenths  of  professing  Christians  have 
no  family  prayers  and  do  not  read  the  Bible.  It  is  no  wonder 
boys  and  girls  are  going  to  hell.  It  is  no  wonder  the  damna- 
ble ball-rooms  are  wrecking  the  virtue  of  our  girls. 

In  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  Matthew  it  is  told  that 
when  Jesus  had  sent  the  multitudes  away  he  went  up  into 
the  mountain  and  was  there  alone  with  God.  Jesus  Christ 
never  forgot  to  thank  God  for  answering  his  prayers.  Jesus 
asked  him  to  help  him  feed  the  multitude,  and  he  didn't 
neglect  to  thank  him  for  it.  Next  time  you  pray  don't  ask 
God  for  anything.  Just  try  to  think  of  all  the  things  you 
have  to  be  thankful  for,  and  tell  him  about  them. 

Pride  Hinders  Prayer 

Pride  keeps  us  from  proper  prayer.  Being  chesty  and 
big-headed  is  responsible  for  more  failures  than  anything 
else  in  this  world.  It  has  spoiled  many  a  preacher,  just  as  it 
has  spoiled  many  an  employee.  Some  fellows  get  a  job  and 
in  about  two  weeks  they  think  they  know  more  about  the 
business  than  the  boss  does.  They  think  he  is  all  wrong. 
It  never  occurs  to  them  that  it  took  some  brains  and  some 
knowledge  to  build  that  business  up  and  keep  it  running 
till  they  got  there. 

Here's  two  things  to  guard  against.  Don't  get  chesty 
over  success,  or  discouraged  over  a  seeming  defeat. 

"And  when  he  prayed  he  said:  'Lazarus,  come  forth*; 
and  he  that  was  dead  came  forth."  If  we  prayed  right  we 
would  raise  men  from  sin  and  bring  them  forth  into  the  Ught 
of  righteousness. 

'And  as  he  prayed  the  fashion  of  his  countenance  was 
altered."  Ladies,  do  you  want  to  look  pretty?  If  some  of 
you  women  would  spend  less  on  dope  and  cold  cream  and 
get  down  on  your  knees  and  pray,  God  would  make  you 
prettier.  Why,  I  can  look  into  your  faces  and  tell  what  sort 
of  lives  you  live.  If  you  are  devoting  your  time  and  thoughts 
to  society,  your  countenances  will  show  it.  If  you  pray,  I 
can  see  that. 


THOSE  BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS         283 

Every  man  who  has  helped  to  light  up  the  dark  places 
of  the  world  has  been  a  praying  man.  I  never  preach  a 
sermon  until  I've  soaked  it  in  prayer.  Never.  Then  I 
never  forget  to  thank  God  for  helping  me  when  I  preach.  I 
don't  care  whether  you  read  your  prayers  out  of  a  book  or 
whether  you  just  say  them,  so  long  as  you  mean  them.  A 
man  can  read  his  prayers  and  go  to  heaven,  or  he  may  just 
say  his  prayers  and  go  to  hell.  We've  got  to  face  conditions. 
When  I  read  I  find  that  all  the  saintly  men  who  have  done 
things  from  Pentecost  until  today,  have  known  how  to  pray. 
It  was  a  master  stroke  of  the  devil  when  he  got  the  church  to 
give  up  prayer.  One  of  the  biggest  farces  today  is  the  aver- 
age prayer-meeting. 

Praying  in  Secret 

Matthew  says,  "But  thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter  into 
thy  closet,  and  when  thou  hast  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy 
Father,  which  is  in  secret;  and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in 
secret  shall  reward  thee  openly." 

Two  men  came  to  the  Temple  to  pray — the  first  was  the 
Pharisee.  He  was  nice  and  smooth,  and  his  attitude  was 
nice  and  smooth.  He  prayed:  ''God,  I  thank  thee  that  I  am 
not  as  other  men  are,  extortioners,  unjust,  adulterers,  or 
even  as  this  publican.  I  fast  twice  in  the  week,  I  give  tithes 
of  all  I  possess,"  and  he  went  out.  I  can  imagine  a  lot 
of  people  sitting  around  the  church  and  saying:  "That  is 
my  idea  of  religion;  that  is  it.  I  am  no  sensationahst;  I 
don't  want  anything  vulgar,  no  slang."  Why  don't  you  use 
a  little,  bud,  so  that  something  will  come  your  way?  And 
it  will  come  as  straight  as  two  and  two  make  four. 

Services  rendered  in  such  opposite  directions  cannot 
meet  with  the  same  results.  If  two  men  were  on  the  top  of 
a  tall  building  and  one  should  jump  and  one  come  down  the 
fire  escape  they  couldn't  expect  to  meet  with  the  same 
degree  of  safety.  The  Pharisee  said,  "Thank  God,  I  am  not 
as  other  men  are,"  and  the  publican  said,  "God  be  merciful 
to  me,  a  sinner."    The  first  man  went  to  his  house  the  same 


284         THOSE  BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS 

as  when  he  came  out  of  it.  "God  be  merciful  to  me,  a  sin- 
ner." That  man  was  justified.  I  am  justified  in  my  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ.  I  am  no  longer  a  sinner.  I  am  justified 
as  though  I  had  never  sinned  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God. 
That  man  went  down  to  his  house  justified. 

Praying  in  Humility 

How  many  people  pray  in  a  real  sense?  How  many 
people  pray  in  humiUty  and  truth?  Some  men  pray  for 
humihty  when  it  is  pride  they  want.  Many  a  man  gets 
down  on  his  knees  and  says :  ' '  Our  Father,  who  art  in  heaven, 
hallowed  be  thy  name:  thy  kingdom  come — "  That  is  not 
so;  they  don't  want  God's  kingdom  to  come.  It  is  not  so 
with  half  the  people  that  pray.  I  say  to  you  when  you  pray 
in  the  church  pew  and  say  that,  it  don't  count  a  snap  of 
my  finger  if  you  don't  five  it.  You  pray,  "Thy  kingdom 
come,"  and  then  you  go  out  and  do  something  to  prevent 
that  kingdom  from  coming.  No  man  can  get  down  and 
pray  "Thy  kingdom  come,"  and  have  a  beer  wagon  back  up 
to  his  door  and  put  beer  in  the  ice  box.  No  man  can  get 
down  on  his  knees  and  pray  "Thy  kingdom  come,"  and  look 
through  the  bottom  of  a  beer  glass.  God  won't  stand  for  it. 
If  you  wanted  God's  will  done  you  would  do  God's  will,  even 
if  it  took  every  drop  of  blood  in  your  body  to  do  it. 

"Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven."  When 
you  say  this  in  your  pew  on  Sunday  it  means  nothing  imless 
you  five  it  on  Monday.  You  say  "Thy  kingdom  come,"  and 
then  go  out  and  do  the  very  thing  that  will  prevent  God's 
kingdom  from  coming.  Your  prayers  or  anything  you  do  in 
the  church  on  Sunday  mean  nothing  if  you  don't  do  the  same 
thing  in  business  on  Monday.  I  don't  care  how  loud  your 
wind-jamming  in  prayer-meeting  may  be  if  you  go  out  and 
skin  somebody  in  a  horse  deal  the  next  day. 

The  man  who  truly  prays,  "Thy  kingdom  come,"  cannot 
take  his  heart  out  of  his  prayer  when  he  is  out  of  the  church. 
The  man  who  truly  prays  "Thy  kingdom  come,"  will  not  be 
ehrinking  his  measures  at  the  store;  the  load  of  coal  he  sends 


THOSE  BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS         285 

to  you  won't  be  half  slate.  The  man  who  truly  prays  "Thy 
kingdom  come  "  won't  cut  off  his  yardstick  when  he  measures 
you  a  piece  of  caUco.  It  will  not  take  the  pure-food  law  to 
keep  a  man  who  truly  prays  "Thy  kingdom  come"  from 
putting  chalk  in  the  flour,  sand  in  the  sugar,  brick  dust  in 
red  pepper,  ground  peanut  shells  in  breakfast  food. 

The  man  who  truly  prays  "Thy  kingdom  come"  cannot 
pass  a  saloon  and  not  ask  himself  the  question,  "What  can 
I  do  to  get  rid  of  that  thing  that  is  bUghting  the  hves  of  thou- 
sands  of  young  men,  that  is  wrecking  homes,  and  that  is 
dragging  men  and  women  down  to  hell?"  You  cannot  pray 
"Thy  kingdom  come,"  and  then  rush  to  the  polls  and  vote 
for  the  thing  that  is  preventing  that  kingdom  from  coming. 
You  cannot  pray  "Thy  kingdom  come"  and  then  go  and  do 
the  things  that  make  the  devil  laugh.  For  the  man  who 
truly  prays  "Thy  kingdom  come"  it  would  be  impossible 
to  have  one  kind  of  religion  on  his  knees  and  another  when  he 
is  behind  the  counter;  it  would  be  impossible  to  have  one 
kind  of  rehgion  in  the  pew  and  another  in  pohtics.  When  a 
man  truly  prays  "Thy  kingdom  come"  he  means  it  in  every- 
thing or  in  nothing. 

A  lot  of  church  members  are  praying  wrong.  You 
should  pray  first,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner, "  and  then 
"Thy  kingdom  come." 

Saying  a  prayer  is  one  thing :  doing  God's  will  is  another. 
Both  should  be  synonymous.  Angels  are  angels  because  they 
do  God's  will.  When  they  refuse  to  do  God's  will  they  be- 
come devils. 

Many  a  man  prays  when  he  gets  in  a  hole.  Many  a 
man  prays  when  he  is  up  against  it.  Many  a  man  prays  in 
the  time  of  trouble,  but  when  he  can  stick  his  thumbs  in  his 
armholes  and  take  a  pair  of  scissors  and  cut  his  coupons  off, 
then  it  is  "Good-bye,  God ;  I'll  see  you  later  J'  Many  a  man 
will  make  promises  to  God  in  his  extremity,  but  forget  them 
LQ  his  prosperity.  Many  a  man  will  make  promises  to  God 
when  the  hearse  is  backed  up  to  the  door  to  carry  the  baby 
out,  but  will  soon  forget  the  promises  made  in  the  days  of 


286         THOSE  BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS 

adversity.  Many  a  man  will  make  promises  when  lying 
on  his  back,  thinking  he  is  going  to  die,  and  load  up  just  the 
same  when  he  is  on  his  feet. 

Men  of  Prayer 

Every  man  and  every  woman  that  God  has  used  to 
halt  this  sin-cursed  world  and  set  it  going  Godward  has  been 
a  Christian  of  prayer.  Martin  Luther  arose  from  his  bed 
and  prayed  all  night,  and  when  the  break  of  day  came  he 
called  his  wife  and  said  to  her,  "It  has  come."  History 
records  that  on  that  very  day  King  Charles  granted  religious 
toleration,  a  thing  for  which  Luther  had  prayed. 

John  Knox,  whom  his  queen  feared  more  than  any  other 
man,  was  in  such  agony  of  prayer  that  he  ran  out  into  the 
street  and  fell  on  his  face  and  cried,  "0  God,  give  me 
Scotland  or  I'll  die."  And  God  gave  him  Scotland  and  not 
only  that,  he  threw  England  in  for  good  measure. 

When  Jonathan  Edwards  was  about  to  preach  his 
greatest  sermon  on  "Sinners  in  the  Hands  of  an  Angry  God," 
he  prayed  for  days;  and  when  he  stood  before  the  congrega- 
tion and  preached  it,  men  caught  at  the  seats  in  their  terror, 
and  some  fell  to  the  floor;  and  the  people  cried  out  in  their 
fear,  "Mr.  Edwards,  tell  us  how  we  can  be  saved!" 

The  critical  period  of  American  history  was  between 
1784  and  1789.  There  was  no  common  coinage,  no  common 
defense.  Wlien  the  colonies  sent  men  to  a  constitutional 
convention,  Benjamin  Franklin,  rising  with  the  weight 
of  his  four  score  years,  asked  that  the  convention  open  with 
prayer,  and  George  Washington  there  sealed  the  bargain 
with  God.  In  that  winter  in  Valley  Forge,  Washington  led 
his  men  in  prayer  and  he  got  down  on  his  knees  to  do  it. 

When  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  on,  Lincoln,  old  Abe 
Lincoln,  was  on  his  knees  with  God;  yes,  he  was  on  his 
knees  from  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  till  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  Bishop  Simpson  was  with  him. 

"And  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  the  Father  in  My  name, 
that  will  I  do,  that  the  Father  may  be  glorified  in  the  Son." 


THOSE   BILLY  SUNDAY  PRAYERS  287 

No  man  can  ever  be  saved  without  Jesus  Christ.  There's 
no  way  to  God  unless  you  come  through  Jtjsus  Christ.  It's 
Jesus  Christ  or  nothing. 

*'Lord,  teach  us  to  pray.'* 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
The  Revival  on  Trial 

One  spark  of  fire  can  do  more  to  prove  the  power  of  powder  than  a 
whole  library  written  on  the  subject. — Billy  Sunday. 

WHAT  Evangelist  Sunday  says  to  his  congregations 
is  sometimes  less  significant  than  what  he  helps 
his  congregation  to  say  to  the  world.  Let  us 
take  a  sample  meeting  in  the  Pittsburgh  campaign,  with 
the  tremendous  deliverance  which  it  made  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  revivals  and  conversions. 

A  "sea  of  faces"  is  a  petrified  phrase,  which  means 
nothing  to  most  readers.  Anybody  who  will  stand  on  the 
platform  behind  Billy  Sunday  at  one  of  his  great  taber- 
nacles understands  it.  More  than  twenty  thousand  faces, 
all  turned  expectantly  toward  one  man,  confront  you. 
The  faces  rather  than  the  hair  predominate.  There  are 
no  hats  in  sight. 

Like  the  billows  along  the  shore,  which  may  be 
observed  in  detail,  the  nearer  reaches  of  this  human  sea  are 
individualized.  What  a  Madonna-face  yonder  girl  has! 
See  the  muscles  of  that  young  man's  jaw  working,  in  the 
intensity  of  his  interest.  The  old  man  who  is  straining 
forward,  so  as  not  to  miss  a  word,  has  put  a  black  and 
calloused  hand  behind  his  ear.  That  gray-haired  woman 
with  the  lorgnette  and  rolls  of  false  hair  started  out  with 
the  full  consciousness  that  she  was  a  "somebody":  watch 
her  wilt  and  become  merely  a  tired,  heart-hungry  old 
woman.  And  the  rows  and  rows  of  imdistinguished  com- 
monplace people,  just  like  the  crowds  we  meet  daily  in  the 
street  cars. 

Somehow,  though,  each  seems  here  engaged  in  an 
individual  transaction.  A  revival  meeting  accents  per- 
sonahty.     Twenty  or  thirty  rows  down  the  big  congrega- 


THE  REVIVAL  ON  TRIAL  289 

tion  begins  to  blurr  in  appearance,  and  individual  faces  are 
merged  in  the  mass.  The  host,  which  is  but  an  agglomera- 
tion of  individuals,  is  impressive.  The  "sea  of  faces"  is 
more  affecting  than  old  ocean's  expanse. 

Where  else  may  one  so  see  "the  people";  or  funda- 
mental human  nature  so  expressing  itself?  One  compares 
*hese  crov/ds  with  the  lesser  throngs  that  followed  Jesus 
when  he  walked  the  earth,  and  recalls  that  "greater  works 
than  these  shall  they  do."  There  is  a  sermon  in  every  aspect 
of  the  Billy  Sunday  meetings. 

Curiously,  people  will  reveal  more  of  themselves,  be 
more  candid  concerning  their  inner  experiences,  in  a  crowd 
than  when  taken  one  by  one.  Thus  this  congregation  is  a 
rare  laboratory.  Tonight  the  evangelist  is  going  to  make 
an  experiment  upon  revivals  and  their  value. 

It  is  conunon  to  object  to  revivals  and  to  revivalists. 
Billy  Sunday's  reply  to  this  is  simply  unanswerable:  he 
appeals  to  the  people  themselves  for  evidence.  By  a  show 
of  hands — and  he  conducts  this  experiment  in  practically 
every  community  he  visits — he  gives  a  convincing  demon- 
stration that  it  is  by  special  evangelistic  efforts  that  most 
Christians  have  entered  the  Church  of  Christ.  By  the 
same  method,  he  shows  that  youth  is  the  time  to  make  the 
jreat  decision. 

When  this  question  is  put  to  a  test  a  dramatic 
iioment,  the  significance  of  which  the  multitude  quickly 
grasps,  ensues.  On  this  occasion  there  are  more  than 
twenty  thousand  persons  within  the  Tabernacle.  First 
the  evangelist  asks  the  confessed  Christians  to  rise.  The 
^reat  bulk  of  the  congregation  stands  on  its  feet.  Then  he 
asks  for  those  who  were  converted  in  special  meetings, 
revivals  of  some  sort  or  other,  to  raise  their  hands.  From 
three-fourths  to  four-fifths  of  the  persons  standing  lift  their 
hands  in  token  that  they  were  converted  during  revivals. 

Then — each  time  elaborating  his  question  so  that 
there  may  be  no  misunderstanding — Sunday  asks  those  who 
were  converted  before  they  were  twenty  to  indicate  it. 


290  THE  REVIVAL  ON  TRIAL 

Here  again  the  majority  is  so  large  as  to  be  simply  over- 
whelming. It  almost  seems  that  the  whole  body  of 
Christians  had  become  such  before  they  attained  their 
legal  majority. 

Of  the  few  hundreds  that  are  left  standing,  Sunday 
asks  in  turn  for  those  who  were  converted  before  they  were 
thirty,  those  who  were  converted  before  they  were  forty, 
before  they  were  fifty,  before  they  were  sixty.  When  it 
comes  to  this  point  of  age  the  scene  is  thrilling  in  its  signifi- 
cance. Usually  there  are  only  one  or  two  persons  standing 
who  have  entered  the  Christian  life  after  reaching  fifty  years 
of  age. 

The  conclusion  is  irresistible.  Unless  a  person  accepts 
Christ  in  youth  the  chances  are  enormously  against  his  ever 
accepting  Him  subsequently.  The  demonstration  is  an 
impressive  vindication  of  revivals,  and  of  the  importance  of 
an  early  decision  for  Christ. 

After  such  a  showing  as  this,  everybody  is  willing  to 
Usten  to  a  sermon  upon  revivals  and  their  place  in  the  econ- 
omy of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

"THE  NEED  OF  REVIVALS" 

Somebody  asks:  "What  is  a  revival?"  Revival  is  a 
purely  philosophical,  common-sense  result  of  the  wise  use 
of  divinely  appointed  means,  just  the  same  as  water  will  put 
out  a  fire;  the  same  as  food  will  appease  your  hunger;  just 
the  same  h,s  water  will  slake  your  thirst;  it  is  a  philosophical 
common-sense  use  of  divinely  appointed  means  to  accomplish 
that  end.    A  revival  is  just  as.much  horse  sense  as  that. 

A  revival  is  not  material;  it  does  not  depend  upon 
material  means.  It  is  a  false  idea  that  there  is  something 
pecuHar  in  it,  that  it  cannot  be  judged  by  ordinary  rules, 
causes  and  effects.  That  is  nonsense.  Above  your  head 
there  is  an  electric  light;  that  is  effect.  Wliat  is  the  cause? 
Why,  the  dynamo.  ReUgion  can  be  judged  on  the  same 
basis  of  cause  and  effect.  If  you  do  a  thing,  results  always 
come.    The  results  come  to  the  farmer.    He  has  his  cropSo 


THE  REVIVAL  ON  TRIAL 


291 


That  is  the  result.  He  has  to  plow  and  plant  and  take  care 
of  his  farm  before  the  crops  come. 

Religion  needs  a  baptism  of  horse  sense.  That  is  just 
pure  horse  sense.  I  believe  there  is  no  doctrine  more  dan- 
gerous to  the  Church  today  than  to  convey  the  impression 
that  a  revival  is  something  peculiar  in  itself  and  cannot  be 
judged  by  the  same  rules  of  causes  and  effect  as  other  things. 
If  you  preach  that  to  the  farmers — if  you  go  to  a  farmer  and 
say  "God  is  a  sovereign," 
that  is  true;  if  you  say  "God 
will  give  you  crops  only 
when  it  pleases  him  and  it  is 
no  use  for  you  to  plow  your 
ground  and  plant  your  crops 
in  the  spring,"  that  is  all 
WTong,  and  if  you  preach 
that  doctrine  and  expect  the 
farmers  to  beheve  it,  this 
country  will  starve  to  death 
in  two  years.  The  churches 
have  been  preaching  some 
false  doctrines  and  rehgion 
has  died  out. 

Some  people  think  that 
religion  is  a  good  deal  like 
a  storm.  They  sit  around 
and  fold  their  arms,  and 
that  is  what  is  the  matter. 

You  sit  in  your  pews  so  easy  that  you  become  mildewed. 
Such  results  will  be  sure  to  follow  if  you  are  persuaded 
that  rehgion  is  something  mysterious  and  has  no  natural 
connection  between  the  means  and  the  end.  It  has  a  nat- 
ural connection  of  common  sense  and  I  believe  that  when 
divinely  appointed  means  are  used  spiritual  blessing  will 
accrue  to  the  individuals  and  the  community  in  greater 
numbers  than  temporal  blessings.  You  can  have  spiritual 
blessings  as  regularly  as  the  farmer  can  have  com,  wheat, 


You  Sit  in  Your  Pewb  so  East  that 
You  Become  Mildewed  " 


292  THE  REVIVAL  ON  TRIAL 

oats,  or  you  can  have  potatoes  and  onions  and  cabbage  in 
your  garden.  I  believe  that  spiritual  results  will  follow  more 
surely  than  temporal  blessings.  I  don't  beUeve  all  this 
tommy-rot  of  false  doctrines.  You  might  as  well  sit  around 
beneath  the  shade  and  fan  yourself  and  say  "Ain't  it  hot?" 
as  to  expect  God  to  give  you  a  crop  if  you  don't  plow  the 
ground  and  plant  the  seed.  Until  the  Church  resorts  to  the 
use  of  divinely  appointed  means  it  won't  get  the  blessing. 

What  a  Revival  Does 

What  is  a  revival?  Now  hsten  to  me.  A  revival  does 
two  things.  First,  it  returns  the  Church  from  her  backshding 
and  second,  it  causes  the  conversion  of  men  and  women;  and 
it  always  includes  the  conviction  of  sin  on  the  part  of  the 
Church.  What  a  spell  the  devil  seems  to  cast  over  the  Church 
today! 

I  suppose  the  people  here  are  pretty  fair  representatives 
of  the  Church  of  God,  and  if  everybody  did  what  you  do 
there  were  would  never  be  a  revival.  Suppose  I  did  no  more 
than  you  do,  then  no  people  would  ever  be  converted  through 
my  efforts;  I  would  fold  my  arms  and  rust  out.  A  revival 
helps  to  bring  the  unsaved  to  Jesus  Christ. 

God  Almighty  never  intended  that  the  devil  should 
triumph  over  the  Church.  He  never  intended  that  the 
saloons  should  walk  rough-shod  over  Christianity.  And 
if  you  think  that  anybody  is  going  to  frighten  me,  you 
don't  know  me  yet. 

When  is  a  revival  needed?  When  the  individuals  are 
careless  and  unconcerned.  If  the  Church  were  down  on  her 
face  in  prayer  they  would  be  more  concerned  with  the  fellow 
outside.  The  Church  has  degenerated  into  a  third-rate 
amusement  joint,  with  religion  left  out. 

When  is  a  revival  needed?  When  carelessness  and  un- 
concern keep  the  people  asleep.  It  is  as  much  the  duty  of 
the  Church  to  awaken  and  work  and  labor  for  the  men  and 
women  of  this  city  as  it  is  the  duty  of  the  fire  department  to 
rush  out  when  the  call  sounds.     What  would  you  think  ol 


THE  REVIVAL  ON  TRIAL  293 

the  fire  department  if  it  slept  while  the  town  burned?  You 
would  condemn  them,  and  I  will  condemn  you  if  you  sleep 
and  let  men  and  women  go  to  hell.  It  is  just  as  much  your 
business  to  be  awake.  The  Church  of  God  is  asleep  today; 
it  is  turned  into  a  dormitory,  and  has  taken  the  devil's 
opiates. 

When  may  a  revival  be  expected?  When  the  wicked- 
ness of  the  wicked  grieves  and  distresses  the  Christian. 
Sometimes  people  don't  seem  to  mind  the  sins  of  other  people. 
Don't  seem  to  mind  while  boys  and  girls  walk  the  streets  of 
their  city  and  know  more  of  evil  than  gray-haired  men.  You 
are  asleep. 

When  is  a  revival  needed?  When  the  Christians  have 
lost  the  spirit  of  prayer. 

When  is  a  revival  needed?  When  you  feel  the  want  of 
revival  and  feel  the  need  of  it.  Men  have  had  this  feeling, 
ministers  have  had  it  until  they  thought  they  would  die 
unless  a  revival  would  come  to  awaken  their  people,  their 
students,  their  deacons  and  their  Sunday-school  workers, 
unless  they  would  fall  down  on  their  faces  and  renounce  the 
world  and  the  works  and  deceits  of  the  devil.  When  the 
Church  of  God  draws  its  patrons  from  the  theaters  the 
theaters  will  close  up,  or  else  take  the  dirty,  rotten  plays  off 
the  stage. 

When  the  Church  of  God  stops  voting  for  the  saloon,  the 
saloon  will  go  to  hell.  When  the  members  stop  having  cards 
in  their  homes,  there  won't  be  so  many  black-legged  gamblers 
in  the  world.  This  is  the  truth.  You  can't  sit  around  and 
fold  your  arms  and  let  God  run  this  business;  you  have  been 
.  doing  that  too  long  here.  When  may  a  revival  be  expected? 
When  Christians  confess  their  sins  one  to  another.  Some- 
times they  confess  in  a  general  way,  but  they  have  no  earnest- 
ness; they  get  up  and  do  it  in  eloquent  language,  but  that 
doesn't  do  it.  It  is  when  they  break  down  and  cry  and 
pour  out  their  hearts  to  God  in  grief,  when  the  flood- 
gates open,  then  I  want  to  tell  you  the  devil  will  have  cold 
feet. 


294  THE  REVIVAL  ON  TRIAL 

Revival  Demands  Sacrifice 

When  may  a  revival  be  expected?  When  the  wicked- 
ness of  the  wicked  grieves  and  distresses  the  Church.  When 
you  are  willing  to  make  a  sacrifice  for  the  revival;  when  you 
are  willing  to  sacrifice  your  feelings.  You  say,  "Oh,  well, 
Mr.  Sunday  hurt  my  feelings."  Then  don't  spread  them  all 
over  his  tabernacle  for  men  to  walk  on.  I  despise  a  touchy 
man  or  woman.  Make  a  sacrifice  of  your  feelings;  make  a 
sacrifice  of  your  business,  of  your  time,  of  your  money;  you 
are  willing  to  give  to  help  to  advance  God's  cause,  for  God's 
cause  has  to  have  money  the  same  as  a  raihoad  or  a  steam- 
ship company.  When  you  give  your  influence  and  stand  up 
and  let  people  know  you  stand  for  Jesus  Christ  and  it  has 
your  indorsement  and  time  and  money.  Somebody  has  got 
to  get  on  the  firing  line.  Somebody  had  to  go  on  the  firing 
line  and  become  bullet  meat  for  $13  a  month  to  overcome 
slavery.  Somebody  has  to  be  willing  to  make  a  sacrifice. 
They  must  be  willing  to  get  out  and  hustle  and  do  things  for 
God. 

When  may  a  revival  be  expected?  A  revival  may  be 
expected  when  Christian  people  confess  and  ask  forgiveness 
for  their  sins.  When  you  are  willing  that  God  shall  promote 
and  use  whatever  means  or  instruments  or  individuals  or 
methods  he  is  pleased  to  use  to  promote  them.  Yes.  The 
trouble  is  he  cannot  promote  a  revival  if  you  are  sitting  on 
the  judgment  of  the  methods  and  means  that  God  is  employ- 
ing to  promote  a  revival.  The  God  Almighty  may  use  any 
method  or  means  or  individual  that  he  pleases  in  order  to 
promote  a  revival.  You  are  not  running  it.  Let  God  have 
his  way.  You  can  tell  whether  you  need  a  revival.  You 
can  tell  if  you  will  have  one  and  why  you  have  got  one.  If 
God  should  ask  you  sisters  and  preachers  in  an  audible 
voice,  "Are  you  willing  that  I  should  promote  a  revival  by 
using  any  methods  or  means  or  individual  language  that  I 
choose  to  use  to  promote  it?"  what  would  be  your  answer? 
Yes.  Then  don't  growl  if  I  use  some  things  that  you  don't 
like.     You  have  no  business  to.     How  can  you  promote  a 


THE  REVIVAL  ON  TRIAL  295 

revival?  Break  up  your  fallow  ground,  the  ground  that 
produces  nothing  but  weeds,  briars,  tin  cans  and  brick-bats. 
Fallow  ground  is  ground  that  never  had  a  glow  in  it.  Detroit 
had  a  mayor,  Pingree,  when  Detroit  had  thousands  and 
thousands  of  acres  of  fallow  ground.  This  was  taken  over 
by  the  municipal  government  and  planted  with  potatoes 
with  which  they  fed  the  poor  of  the  city. 

There  are  individuals  who  have  never  done  anything 
for  Jesus  Christ,  and  I  have  no  doubt  there  are  preachers  as 
weU,  who  have  never  done  anything  for  the  God  Almighty. 
There  are  acres  and  acres  of  fallow  ground  lying  right  here 
that  have  never  been  touched.  Look  over  your  past  life, 
look  over  your  present  hfe  and  future  and  take  up  the 
individual  sins  and  with  pencil  and  paper  write  them  down. 
A  general  confession  will  never  do.  You  have  committed 
your  sins,  one  by  one,  and  you  will  have  to  confess  them 
one  by  one.  This  thing  of  saying,  "God,  lam  a  sinner," 
won't  do. 

"God,  I  am  a  gossiper  in  my  neighborhood.  God,  I  have 
been  in  my  ice-box  while  I  am  here  Ustening  to  Mr.  Simday." 
Confess  your  sins. 

How  can  you  promote  a  revival?  You  women,  if  you 
found  that  your  husband  was  giving  his  love  and  attention 
to  some  other  woman  and  if  you  saw  that  some  other  woman 
was  encroaching  on  his  mind  and  heart,  and  was  usurping 
your  place  and  was  pushing  you  out  of  the  place,  wouldn't 
you  grieve?  Don't  you  think  that  God  grieves  when  you 
push  him  out  of  your  life?  You  don't  treat  God  square.  You 
business  men  don't  treat  God  fair.  You  let  a  thousand  things 
come  in  and  take  the  place  that  God  Almighty  had.  No 
wonder  you  are  careless.  You  blame  God  for  things  you  have 
no  right  to  blame  him  for.  He  is  not  to  blame  for  anything. 
You  judge  God.  The  spirit  loves  the  Bible;  the  devil  loves 
the  flesh. 

If  you  don't  do  your  part,  don't  blame  God.  How  many 
times  have  you  blamed  God  when  you  are  the  liar  yourself. 
You  are  wont  to  blame  him  for  the  instances  of  unbelief 


296  THE  REVIVIAL  ON  TRIAL 

that  have  come  into  your  life.  When  should  we  promote  a 
revival?  When  there  is  a  neglect  of  prayer?  When  your 
prayers  affect  God?  You  never  think  of  going  out  on  the 
street  without  dressing.  You  would  be  pinched  before  you 
went  a  block.  You  never  think  of  going  without  breakfast, 
do  you?  I  bet  there  are  multitudes  that  have  come  here 
without  reading  the  Bible  or  praying  for  this  meeting. 

You  can  measure  your  desire  for  salvation  by  means  of 
the  amount  of  self-denial  you  are  willing  to  practice  for  Jesus 
Christ.  You  have  sinned  before  the  Church,  before  the 
world,  before  God. 

Don't  the  Lord  have  a  hard  time?    Own  up,  now. 

Persecution  a  Godsend 

There  are  a  lot  of  people  in  church,  doubtless,  who  have 
denied  themselves — self-denial  for  comfort  and  convenience. 
There  are  a  lot  of  people  here  who  never  make  any  sacrifices 
for  Jesus  Christ.  They  will  not  suffer  any  reproaches  for 
Jesus  Christ.  Paul  says,  "I  love  to  suffer  reproaches  for 
Christ."  The  Bible  says,  ''Woe  unto  you  when  all  men  shall 
speak  well  of  you."  "Blessed  are  you  when  your  enemies 
persecute  you."  That  is  one  trouble  in  the  churches  of 
God  today.  They  are  not  willing  to  suffer  reproach  for  God's 
sake.  It  would  be  a  godsend  if  the  Church  would  suffer 
persecution  today;  she  hasn't  suffered  it  for  hundreds  of 
years.  She  is  growing  rich  and  lagging  behind.  Going 
back. 

Pride!  How  many  times  have  you  found  yourself 
exercising  pride?  How  many  times  have  you  attempted 
pride  of  wealth?  Proud  because  you  were  related  to  some 
of  the  old  famiUes  that  settled  in  the  Colonies  in  1776.  That 
don't  get  you  anything;  not  at  all.  I  have  got  as  much  to 
be  proud  of  as  to  lineage  as  anyone;  my  great-grandfather 
was  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  lost  a  leg  at  Brandywine; 
and  my  father  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  War. 

Envy!  Envy  of  those  that  have  more  talent  than  you. 
Envious  because  someone  can  own  a  limousine  Packard  and 


THE  REVIVAL  ON  TRIAL  297 

you  have  to  ride  a  Brusii  runabout;  envious  because  some 
women  can  wear  a  sealskin  coat  and  you  a  nearseal. 

Then  there  is  your  grumbhng  and  fault-finding.  When 
speaking  of  people  behind  their  backs,  telling  their  faults, 
whether  real  or  imaginary,  and  that  is  slander.  When  you 
sit  around  and  rip  people  up  behind  their  backs  at  your  old 
sewing  societies,  when  you  rip  and  tear  and  discuss  your 
neighbors  and  turn  the  affair  into  a  sort  of  a  great  big 
gossiping  society,  with  your  fault-finding,  grumbling  and 
growling.  There  is  a  big  difference  between  levity  and 
happiness,  and  pleasure,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing. 

Make  up  your  mind  that  God  has  given  himself  up  for 
you.  I  would  like  to  see  something  come  thundering  along 
that  I  would  have  more  interest  in  than  I  have  in  the  cause 
of  God  Almighty!  God  has  a  right  to  the  first  place.  God 
is  first,  remember  that. 

Multitudes  of  people  are  willing  to  do  anything  that 
doesn't  require  any  self-denial  on  their  part. 

I  am  not  a  member  of  any  lodge,  and  never  expect  to 
be,  but  if  I  were  a  member  of  a  lodge  and  there  were  a  prayer- 
meeting  and  a  lodge-meeting  coming  on  Wednesday  night, 
I  would  be  at  the  prayer-meeting  instead  of  at  the  lodge- 
meeting.  I  am  not  against  the  lodges;  they  do  some  good 
work  in  the  world,  but  that  doesn't  save  anyone  for  God. 
God  is  first  and  the  lodge-meetiug  is  second.  God  is  first 
and  society  second.  God  is  first  and  business  is  second.  "In 
the  beginning,  God!"  That  is  the  way  the  Bible  starts  out 
and  it  ought  to  be  the  way  with  every  living  being.  "In  the 
beginning,  God."  Seek  you  first  God  and  everything  else 
shall  be  added  unto  you.  Christianity  is  addition;  sin  is 
subtraction.  Christianity  is  peace,  joy,  salvation,  heaven. 
Sin  takes  away  peace,  happiness,  sobriety,  and  it  takes  away 
health.  You  are  robbing  God  of  the  time  that  you  misspend. 
You  are  robbing  God  when  you  spend  time  doing  something 
that  don't  amount  to  anything,  when  you  might  do  some- 
thing for  Christ.  You  are  robbing  God  when  you  go  to 
foolish  amusements,  when  you  sit  around  reading  trashy 
novels  instead  of  the  Word  of  God. 


298  THE  REVIVAL  ON  TRIAL 

*'0h,  Lord,  revive  thy  work!" 

I  have  only  two  minutes  more  and  then  I  am  through. 
Bad  temper.  Abuse  your  wife  and  abuse  your  children; 
abuse  your  husband;  turn  your  old  gatling-gun  tongue  loose. 
A  lady  came  to  me  and  said,  ''Mr.  Sunday,  I  know  I  have  a 
bad  temper,  but  I  am  over  with  it  in  a  minute."  So  is  the 
shotgun,  but  it  blows  everything  to  pieces. 

And,  finally,  you  abuse  the  telephone  girl  because  she 
doesn't  connect  you  in  a  minute.  Bad  temper.  I  say  you 
abuse  your  wife,  you  go  cussing  around  if  supper  isn't  ready 
on  time;  cussing  because  the  coffee  isn't  hot;  you  dig  your 
fork  into  a  hunk  of  beefsteak  and  put  it  on  your  plate  and 
then  you  say:  "Where  did  you  get  this,  in  the  harness  shop? 
Take  it  out  and  make  a  hinge  for  the  door."  Then  you  go 
to  your  store,  or  office,  and  smile  and  everybody  thinks  you 
are  an  angel  about  to  sprout  wings  and  fly  to  the  imperial 
realm  above.  Bad  temper!  You  growl  at  your  children; 
you  snap  and  snarl  around  the  house  until  they  have  to  go 
to  the  neighbors  to  see  a  smile.  They  never  get  a  kind  word 
— ^no  wonder  so  many  of  them  go  to  ik?,  devil  quick. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
An  Army  with  Banners 

The  man  who  is  right  with  God  will  not  be  wrong  with  anything  that 

is  good. — BiLLT  StTNDAT. 

THE  oldest  problem  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  the 
latest  problem  of  democracy,  is  how  to  reach  the 
great  mass  of  the  people.  Frequently  the  charge  is 
made  that  the  Church  merely  skims  the  surface  of  society,  and 
that  the  great  imcaring  masses  of  the  people  he  untouched 
beneath  it.  Coromonly,  a  revival  reaches  only  a  short 
distance  outside  the  circumference  of  chm-ch  circles.  The 
wonder  and  greatness  of  the  Billy  Sunday  campaigns 
consist  in  the  fact  that  they  reach  to  the  uttermost  rim  of 
a  community,  to  its  greatest  height  and  its  lowest  depth. 
There  can  be  no  question  that  he  stirs  a  city  as  not  even 
the  fiercest  pohtical  campaign  stirs  it.  Sunday  touches  life 
on  all  levels,  bringing  his  message  to  bear  upon  the  society 
woman  in  her  parlor  and  the  humblest  day  laborer  in  the 
trench. 

This  does  not  come  to  pass  by  any  mere  chance.  Organ- 
ized activity  achieves  it.  The  method  which  produces  the 
greatest  results  is  what  is  called  the  Delegation  Idea,  whereby 
detachments  of  persons  from  various  trades,  callings  and 
organizations  and  communities  attend  in  a  body  upon  the 
services  of  the  Sunday  Tabernacle. 

By  prearrangement,  seats  are  reserved  every  night  for 
these  visiting  delegations.  Sometimes  there  will  be  as  many 
as  a  dozen  delegations  present  in  one  evening.  As  the 
campaign  progresses  towards  its  conclusion  real  difficulty 
is  experienced  in  finding  open  dates  for  all  the  delegations 
that  apply.  At  the  outset,  Mr.  Sunday's  assistants  have 
to  "work  up"  these  del^ations.  Later,  the  delegations 
themselves  besiege  the  workers. 

(299^ 


300  AN  ARMY  WITH  BANNERS 

In  variety  the  delegations  range  from  a  regiment  of 
Boy  Scouts  to  a  post  of  old  soldiers;  from  the  miners  of  a 
specified  coUiery  to  the  bankers  of  the  city;  from  the 
telephone  girls  to  the  members  of  a  woman's  club ;  from 
an  athletic  club  to  a  Bible  class. 

Not  only  the  community  in  which  the  meetings  are 
being  held  fm-nish  these  delegations,  but  the  surrounding 
territory  is  drawn  upon.  It  is  by  no  means  an  unknown 
thing  for  a  single  delegation,  numbering  a  thousand  or 
fifteen  hundred  men,  to  come  a  distance  of  fifteen  or  twenty- 
five  miles  to  attend  a  Sunday  Tabernacle  service.  Almost 
every  evening  there  are  fines  of  special  cars  waiting  for  these 
deputations  who  have  come  from  afar,  with  their  banners 
and  their  badges  and  their  bands,  all  bent  upon  hearing 
and  being  heard  at  the  Tabernacle. 

The  crowd  spirit  is  appealed  to  by  this  method.  The 
every-day  instinct  of  loyalty  to  one's  craft  or  crowd  is 
aroused.  Each  delegation  feels  its  own  identity  and 
solidarity,  and  wants  to  make  as  good  a  showing  as  possible. 
There  is  considerable  wholesome  emulation  among  the 
delegations  representing  the  same  craft  or  cormnunity. 
Of  course,  the  work  of  maldng  ready  the  delegation  furnishes 
a  topic  for  what  is  fiterally  "shop  talk"  among  working 
men;  and  naturally  each  group  zealously  watches  the 
effect  of  its  appearance  upon  the  great  congregation.  Dele- 
gations get  a  very  good  idea  of  what  their  neighbors  think  of 
them  by  the  amount  of  applause  with  which  they  are 
greeted.  Thus  when  the  whole  force  of  a  daily  newspaper 
appears  in  the  Tabernacle  its  readers  cheer  vociferously. 
Every  delegation  goes  equipped  with  its  own  battle  cry, 
and  prepared  to  make  as  favorable  a  showing  as  possible. 

All  this  is  wholesome  for  the  community  life.  It  fosters 
loyalty  in  the  varied  groups  that  go  to  make  up  our  society. 
Any  shop  is  the  better  for  its  workers,  led  by  their  heads  of 
departments  and  by  their  employers,  having  gone  in  a  sofid 
phalanx  to  a  Tabernacle  meeting.  Every  incident  of  that 
experience  becomes  an  unfailing  source  of  conversation  for 
long  days  and  weeks  to  follow. 


AN  ARMY  WITH  BANNERS  801 

Naturally,  too,  each  delegation,  delighted  with  the 
showing  it  has  made  at  the  Tabernacle,  and  with  the  part  it 
has  borne  in  the  meeting,  becomes  one  more  group  of  parti- 
sans for  the  Billy  Sunday  campaign.  Men  who  would  not 
go  alone  to  the  Tabernacle,  cannot  in  loyalty  well  refuse  to 
stand  by  their  own  crowd.  So  it  comes  to  pass  that  the  dele- 
gation idea  penetrates  every  level  and  every  section  of  the 
community.  A  shrewder  scheme  for  reaching  the  last  man 
could  scarcely  be  devised.  Thousands  who  are  impervious 
to  religious  appeals  quickly  respond  to  the  request  that  they 
stand  by  their  shop-mates  and  associates. 

Participation  in  the  meetings  makes  the  people  them- 
selves feel  the  importance  of  their  own  part.  They  are  not 
merely  a  crowd  coming  to  be  talked  at;  they  share  in  the 
meetings.  The  newspapers  comment  upon  them  even  as 
upon  the  sermon.  All  are  uplifted  by  the  glow  of  geniality 
and  camaraderie  which  pervades  the  Tabernacle.  For  the 
songs  and  slogans  and  banners  of  the  delegations  greatly 
help  to  swell  the  interest  of  the  meetings. 

All  this  is  wholesome,  democratic  and  typically  Ameri- 
can.  This  good-natured  crowd  does  not  become  unreal  or 
artificial  simply  because  it  is  facing  the  fundamental  verities 
of  the  human  soul. 

Outspokenness  in  loyalty,  a  characteristic  of  Sunday 
converts,  expresses  itself  through  many  channels.  Taught 
by  the  delegation  idea,  as  well  as  by  the  sermon,  the  impor- 
tance of  standing  up  to  be  counted,  the  friends  and  converts 
of  the  evangelist  are  always  ready  for  the  great  parade  which 
usually  is  held  toward  the  close  of  the  campaign.  The  simple 
basis  for  this  street  demonstration  is  found  in  the  old  Scrip- 
ture, ' '  Let  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  say  so."  The  idea  of  the 
Roman  imperial  triumph  survives  in  the  Billy  Sunday  pa- 
rade. It  is  a  testimony  to  the  multitudes  of  the  loyalty  of 
Christians  to  the  Gospel. 

Beyond  all  question,  a  tremendous  impression  is  made 
upon  a  city  by  the  thousands  of  marching  men  whom  the 
evangelist  first  leads  and  then  reviews.     A  street  parade  i 


302  AN  ARMY  WITH  BANNERS 

a  visualization  of  the  forces  of  the  Church  in  a  community. 
Many  a  man  of  the  street,  who  might  be  unmoved  by  many 
arguments,  however  powerful,  cannot  escape  the  impression 
of  the  might  of  the  massed  multitudes  of  men  who  march 
through  the  streets,  thousands  strong.  Some  twenty  thou- 
sand men  were  in  the  Sunday  parade  at  Scranton.  No- 
body who  witnessed  them,  be  he  never  so  heedless  a 
scoffer,  could  again  speak  shghtingly  of  the  Chm'ch.  Re- 
ligion loses  whatever  traits  of  femininity  it  may  have 
possessed,  before  the  Sunday  campaign  is  over. 

Those  most  practical  of  men,  the  politicians,  are  quick 
to  take  cognizance  of  this  new  power  that  has  arisen  in  the 
community's  life.  They  know  that  every  one  of  these  men 
not  only  has  a  vote,  but  is  a  center  of  influence  for  the  things 
in  which  he  believes. 

The  heartening  effect  of  such  a  great  demonstration  as 
this  upon  the  obscure,  lonely  and  discom-aged  saints  is  beyond 
calculation. 

The  great  hosts  of  the  Billy  Sunday  campaign  are  re- 
turning to  first  principles  by  taking  religion  out  into  the 
highways  and  making  it  talked  about,  even  as  the  Founder 
of  the  Church  created  a  commotion  in  the  highways  of 
Capernaum  and  Jerusalem.  These  marching  men  are  a  ser- 
mon one  or  two  miles  long.  The  impression  made  upon 
youth  is  not  to  be  registered  by  any  means  in  the  possession 
of  men.  Every  Christian  the  world  around  must  be  grateful 
to  this  evangelist  and  his  associates  for  giving  the  sort  of 
demonstration,  which  cannot  be  misimderstood  by  the 
world  at  large,  of  the  viriUty  and  the  inamensity  of  the  hosts 
of  heaven  on  earth. 

Many  of  the  utterances  of  Billy  Sunday  are  attuned  to 
this  note  of  valiant  witness-bearing  for  Christ. 

"SPIRITUAL  POWER" 

Samson  didn't  realize  that  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  had 
departed  from  him;  he  walked  out  and  shook  himself  as 
aforetime ;  he  weighed  as  much ;  he  was  as  strong  physically; 


AN   ARMY    WITH  BANNERS  303 

his  mind  was  as  active,  but  although  he  possessed  all  that, 
there  was  one  thing  that  was  necessary  to  make  him  as  he 
had  been:  "He  wist  not  that  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  had 
left  him." 

A  man  may  have  a  fine  physique ;  he  may  have  strength ; 
he  may  have  greatness;  he  may  have  a  beautiful  home;  and 
a  church  may  be  magnificent  and  faultless  in  its  equipment; 
the  preacher  may  be  able  to  reason;  the  choir  may  rival  the 
angels  in  music ;  but  if  you  have  not  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
you  are,  as  Paul  says,  as  sounding  brass  and  tinkling  cymbals, 
and  the  church  is  merely  four  walls  with  a  roof  over  it. 

Nothing  in  the  world  can  be  substituted  for  the  Spirit 
of  God;  no  wealth,  culture  nor  anything  in  the  world.  By 
power  we  do  not  mean  numbers;  there  never  has  been  a 
time  when  there  were  more  members  in  the  Church  than 
today;  yet  we  haven't  kept  progress  in  the  number  of  mem- 
bers in  the  Church  with  the  increased  number  of  people  in 
the  nation.  Our  nation  has  grown  to  over  90,000,000  of 
people,  but  we  are  not  correspondingly  keeping  pace  with 
the  number  of  church  members.  God's  Church  has  not 
increased  correspondingly  in  power  as  it  has  in  numbers; 
while  increasing  in  numbers  it  has  not  increased  in  spir- 
itual power.  I  am  giving  you  facts,  not  fancies.  We  are 
not  dealing  with  theories.  I  am  not  saying  anything  against 
the  Church;  you  never  had  a  man  come  into  this  commimity 
who  would  fight  harder  for  the  Church  of  God  Almighty  than 
I  would.  I  am  talking  about  her  sins  and  the  things  that 
sap  her  power — and  by  power  I  do  not  mean  numbers. 
If  you  had  an  army  of  100,000  and  increased  it  another 
100,000  it  ought  to  be  doubled  in  power. 

Derelicts  in  the  Church 

In  the  Church  of  God  today  you  know  there  are  a  lot 
of  people  who  are  nothing  but  dereUcts  and  nothing  but 
driftwood. 

By  power  I  do  not  mean  wealth.  We  are  the  richest 
people  on  the  earth;  nineteen-twentieths  of  all  the  wealth 


3(M  AN  ARMY  WITH  BANNERS 

or  all  the  money  in  the  United  States  today  is  in  the  hands 
of  professing  Christians,  Catholic  and  Protestant.  That 
ou^t  to  mean  that  it  is  in  God's  hands;  but  it  doesn't. 
They  are  robbing  God.  I  was  in  a  church  in  Iowa  that  had 
three  members  who  were  worth  $200,000  each  and  they  paid 
their  preacher  the  measly  salary  of  $600  a  year,  and  I  will 
be  hornswaggled  if  they  did  not  owe  him  $400  then.  If 
I  ever  skinned  any  old  fellows  I  did  those  old  stingy  coots. 
A  man  who  doesn't  pay  to  the  church  is  as  big  a  swmdler  as 
a  man  who  doesn't  pay  his  grocery  bill  and  he  is  dead-beat- 
ing his  way  to  hell.  You  let  somebody  else  pay  your  bills, 
you  old  dead-beat.  God  hasn't  any  more  use  today  for  a 
dead-beat  in  the  church  than  he  has  for  the  man  who 
doesn't  pay  his  grocery  bill — ^not  a  bit! 

By  power  I  do  not  mean  cultm-e.  There  never  was  a 
time  when  the  people  of  America  were  better  informed  than 
they  are  today;  they  have  newspapers,  telephones,  tele- 
graphs, rural  delivery,  fast  trains.  You  can  leave  home  and 
in  five  days  you  are  in  Europe.  If  something  happens  in 
China  or  Japan  tonight  you  can  read  it  before  you  go  to  bed. 
The  islands  of  the  sea  are  oiu*  neighbors. 

A  stranger  once  asked:  "What  is  the  most  powerful 
and  influential  church  in  this  town?" 

''That  big  stone  Presbyterian  church  on  the  hill." 

"How  many  members  has  it?" 

"I  don't  know,  my  wife  is  a  member." 

"How  manv  J^^unday-school  members?" 

"I  don't  know;   my  children  go." 

"How  many  go  to  prayer-meetings?" 

"I  don't  know;  I  have  never  been  there." 

"How  many  go  to  communion?" 

"I  don't  know,  I  never  go;  my  wife  goes." 

Then  the  stranger  said:  "Will  you  please  tell  me  why 
you  said  it  was  the  most  powerful  and  influential  church  in 
the  commimity?" 

"Yes,  sir;  it  is  the  only  church  in  the  town  that  has 
three  millionaires  in  the  church."    That  was  why  he  thought 


AN  ARMY  WITH  BANNERS  305 

ft  was  a  great  church.  The  Church  m  America  would  die 
of  dry  rot  and  sink  forty-nine  fathoms  in  hell  if  all  members 
were  multimiUionaires  and  college  graduates.  That  ought 
not  to  be  a  barrier  to  spiritual  power.  By  power  I  do  not 
mean  influence. 

I'd  hate  to  have  to  walk  back  nineteen  hundred  years 
to  Pentecost.  There  were  120  at  Pentecost  who  saved  3,000 
souls. 

Some  of  the  most  powerful  churches  I  have  ever  worked 
with  were  not  the  churches  that  had  the  largest  nimiber  or 
the  richest  members.  Out  in  a  town  in  Iowa  there  were  three 
women  who  used  to  pray  all  night  every  Thursday  night, 
one  of  them  a  colored  woman.  People  used  to  come  under 
her  windows  at  night  and  listen  to  her  pray.  She  murdered 
the  king's  English  five  times  in  every  sentence,  but  oh,  she 
knew  God.  They  had  500  names  on  their  list  for  prayer  and 
when  the  meetings  closed  they  had  checked  off  397  of  them. 
Every  Friday  I  would  be  called  over  the  telephone  or  receive 
a  letter  or  meet  those  women  and  they  would  tejl  me  what 
assurances  God  gave  them  as  to  who  would  be  saved.  I 
have  never  met  tiiree  women  that  were  stronger  in  faith 
than  those  three.  That  town  was  Fairfield,  Iowa,  one  of 
the  brightest,  cleanest,  snappiest  Uttle  towns  I  ever  went  into= 

The  Meaning  of  Power 

Samson  wist  not  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  had  departed. 
So  might  we  have  money,  so  might  we  have  members,  so 
might  we  have  increase  in  culture;  but  we  have  not  increased 
in  power.  I  mean  spiritual  power;  power  to  bring  things 
to  pass  by  way  of  reform.  What  do  I  mean  by  power?  I 
have  told  you  what  I  did  not  mean. 

By  power  I  mean  when  the  power  of  God  comes  upon 
you  and  enables  you  to  do  what  you  could  not  do  without 
that  power.  That  comes  to  you  through  confidence  and 
faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  There  was  a  time  when  the 
Church  had  more  spiritual  power  than  she  has  today ;  there 
never  was  a  time  when  she  had  more  members  than  she  has 


306  AN  ARMY  WITH  BANNERS 

today;  there  never  was  a  time  when  she  had  more  money 
than  she  has  today;  more  culture;  but  there  was  a  time  when 
she  had  more  spiritual  power  than  today. 

And  when  she  had  more  spiritual  power  she  was  a  sepa- 
rate institution.  She  was  not  Uving  for  the  devil  as  she  is 
today.  And  the  Church  had  not  become  a  clearing  house  for 
the  forces  of  evil.  We  are  told  that  at  Pentecost  tongues  of 
fire  came  upon  the  expectant  worshipers. 

I  don't  mean  this  gabby  stuff  they  have  got  today  that 
they  call  the  things  of  the  spirit;  I  don't  mean  that  jabbering 
and  froth  and  foaming  at  the  mouth  when  you  can't  under- 
stand a  word  they  say.  Try  the  Spirit,  whether  it  be  of 
God,  and  in  all  ages  when  the  Church  has  stood  for  some- 
thing she  has  had  power. 

So  few  of  us  dream  of  the  tremendous  power  at  our 
command.  At  the  World's  Fair  at  Chicago  the  door  to 
one  of  the  great  buildings  was  without  doorknob  or  latch, 
for  these  were  not  needed.  There  was  a  great  mat  at  the 
entrance,  and  as  you  stepped  upon  it  your  weight  would 
cause  an  electrical  connection  to  be  made  and  the  great 
doors  would  swing  open.  I  take  this  old  Book  and  stand 
upon  it,  and  all  the  wonders  of  life  and  eternity  are  opened 
to  me.    The  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  at  my  command. 

Church  Needs  Great  Awakening 

Let's  quit  fiddling  with  reUgion  and  do  something  to 
bring  the  world  to  Christ.  We  need  a  Pentecost  today. 
The  Church  needs  a  great  awakening.  Now,  I'll  not  stand 
anyone's  saying  anything  against  the  Church  as  an  institu- 
tion; but  I  will  rebiJte  its  sins  and  point  out  its  shortcomings. 
Nobody  who  loves  the  Church  can  be  silent  when  so  much 
needs  to  be  said.  I  love  the  Church.  I  want  to  explode  that 
old  adage  that  "Love  is  blind";  I  tell  you,  love  has  an  eagle's 
eyes. 

Lots  of  churches  are  wrong  in  their  financial  policy. 
It  is  a  wrong  that  the  churches  have  to  resort  to  tricks  that 
firould  shame  the  devil  in  order  to  filch  a  quaiter  out  of  a 


AN  ARMY  WITH  BANNERS  mi 

fellow's  pocket  to  help  pay  the  preacher's  back  salary.  There 
is  hardly  a  church  in  this  country  that  couldn't  have  abun- 
dant funds  if  the  people  would  only  give  of  their  means  as 
they  are  commanded  by  God. 

Then,  too  often  you  put  the  wrong  men  in  places  of 
authority  in  the  church.  You  elect  some  old  fellow  who 
would  look  better  in  a  penitentiary  suit,  just  because  he  had 
a  "drag"  somewhere  We  must  quit  putting  such  men  in 
church  offices. 

When  I  was  a  boy  I  was  taught  how  to  put  glass  knobs 
on  the  feet  of  a  chair  and  charge  the  chair  with  electricity. 
So  long  as  I  didn't  touch  anything  but  the  chair  I  was  all 
right,  but  if  I  touched  the  wall  or  something  else  I  got  a 
shock.  The  power  passed  through  and  from  me.  As 
Christians  we  cannot  come  into  touch  with  defiUng  things 
without  suffering  a  loss  of  spiritual  power.  You  can't  go 
to  the  dance  and  the  card  party  and  the  cheap-skate  show 
without  losing  power.  Yes,  you  can  do  those  things  and  be 
a  church  member.  But  you  can  be  a  church  member  without 
being  a  Christian.     There's  a  difference. 

I  read  in  the  Bible  that  Lot  first  pitched  his  tents  near 
Sodom.  Next  I  read  that  Lot  moved  right  into  Sodom,  and 
lived  there  for  twenty  years.  He  lost  his  power  there,  too. 
When  God  warned  him  to  get  out  of  the  city  he  went  and 
told  his  sons  and  daughters,  but  they  wouldn't  heed  him. 
He  had  lost  his  power  over  them.  He  warned  his  sons-in- 
law,  but  they  wouldn't  heed  him.  He  even  lost  power  over 
his  own  wife,  for  he  told  her  not  to  look  back  as  they  fled,  and 
she  rubbered. 

If  you  have  lost  spiritual  power  it  is  because  you  have 
disobeyed  some  clear  command  of  God.  Maybe  you're 
stingy.  God  requires  tithes.  He  commands  you  to  give 
one  tenth  of  your  income  to  him,  and  maybe  you  don't  do  it. 
It  may  be  your  temper.  It  may  be  that  you  have  neglected 
to  read  the  Bible  and  haven't  prayed  as  you  should. 

The  Church  is  a  failure  because  she  is  compromising 
with  the  men  that  sit  in  the  seats  and  own  saloons  whom 


au8  AJt^  ARMY  WITH  BANNEK8 

she  never  rebukes;  she  is  compromising  with  the  men  who 
rent  their  property  for  disorderly  houses,  and  whom  she  never 
rebukes.  They  are  Uving  off  the  products  of  shame  and  if 
they  buy  food  and  clothes  for  their  wives  and  children  from 
such  money,  they,  too,  are  living  off  this  product  of  shame. 
We  have  lost  our  power  because  we  have  compromised. 

When  I  played  base  ball  I  used  to  attend  every  theater 
in  the  country.  Since  I  was  converted  I  have  not  darkened 
a  theater's  door,  except  to  preach  the  Gospel.  We've  lost 
our  power  because  we've  lost  our  faith. 

Om*  leading  members  are  leaders  in  nothing  but  card 
parties  and  society;  they  are  not  leaders  in  spiritual  things. 
A  man  comes  to  me  and  says,  "Mrs.  So-and-So  is  one  of  my 
leading  members." 

I  ask:  "Does  she  get  to  prayomeetings? " 

"No." 

"Does  she  visit  the  sick?" 

"No." 

"Does  she  put  her  arms  aroimd  some  poor  sinner  and 
try  to  save  her  for  Christ?  " 

"No." 

And  I  find  she  is  a  leader  in  nothing  but  society,  card 
parties,  dances  and  bridge-whist  clubs.  I  don't  call  that  kind 
a  leading  woman  in  the  church;  she  is  the  devil's  bell-wether. 
That  is  true.  I  tell  you  people  what  I  call  yoiu"  leading 
woman:  She  is  the  one  who  gets  down  on  her  knees  and 
prays ;  she  is  the  one  that  can  wrap  her  arms  around  a  sinner 
and  lead  her  to  Christ;  that  is  a  leading  church  member. 
You  have  it  doped  out  wrong. 

Did  Martin  Luther  trim  his  sails  to  the  breeze  of  his 
day?  If  he  had,  you  would  never  have  had  a  Reformation. 
I  will  tell  you  why  we  have  lost  our  power;  I  have  told  you 
what  I  don't  mean  by  power. 

Lost  Power 

We  have  lost  our  power  because  we  have  failed  to  insist 
on  the  separation  of  the  Church  from  the  world.     The 


AN  ARMY   WITH  BANNERS  309 

Church  is  a  separate  body  of  men  and  women;  we  are  to  be 
in  the  world,  but  not  of  the  world.  She  is  all  right  in  the 
world,  all  wrong  when  the  world  is  in  her,  and  the  trouble 
with  the  Church  today  is  that  she  has  sprung  a  leak.  The 
flood  tides  of  the  world  have  been  swept  in  until  even  her 
pews  are  engulfed,  yes,  even  the  choir  loft  is  almost  sub- 
merged. We  have  become  but  a  third-rate  amusement 
bureau.  The  world  has  got  to  see  a  clean-cut  line  of  de- 
markation  between  the  Church  and  the  world.   So  I  beheve. 

If  there's  anything  the  Church  of  God  needs  it's  to 
climb  the  stairs  and  get  in  an  upper  room. 

Jome  out  from  the  things  of  the  world.  When  you  hand 
out  a  pickle  and  a  bunch  of  celery  for  the  cause  of  good,  then 
will  my  Father  not  be  glorified;  nor  will  he  be  glorified  when 
you  sell  oyster  soup  at  twenty-five  cents  a  dish,  when  one 
lone  oyster  chases  aroimd  the  dish  to  find  his  brother.  It 
doesn't  require  much  power  to  do  that,  for  two  dollars  would 
hire  a  girl  to  dish  up  ice-cream.  That  does  not  get  you 
spiritual  power. 

There  is  deep  heart  hungering  in  the  Church  today  for 
the  old-time  Pentecostal  power. 

Now,  I  do  not  know  that  the  Spirit  will  ever  come  to  us 
as  he  came  to  Pentecost,  for  you  must  remember  that 
he  came  to  usher  in  the  new  dispensation,  or  the  dispensation 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  true  he  was  present  in  the  Old 
Testament.     He  was  in  Abraham  and  Moses. 

You'll  have  power  when  there  is  nothing  questionable 
in  your  life. 

You'll  have  power  when  you  testify  in  a  more  positive 
manner. 

Do  as  the  disciples  did,  beheve  and  receive  the  Holy 
Spirit  by  waiting.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  ours.  He  is  the  prom- 
ise of  Jesus  from  the  Father  as  a  gift  to  the  prayers  of  the 
Son.  God  can  no  more  fill  you  with  the  Spirit  if  you  are 
not  right,  willing  and  waiting  to  receive  Him,  than  he  can 
send  the  sunshine  into  your  house  if  you  have  the  blinds  and 
shutters  all  closed.    You  can  pray  till  you  are  black  in  the 


310  AN  ARMY  WITH  BANNERS 

face  and  bald-headed,  but  you're  wasting  your  time  unless 
you  agree  with  God.  There  can  be  no  wedding  unless  two 
parties  are  agreed.  If  the  girl  says  "No,"  that  ends  it. 
Don't  think  you  are  walking  with  God  just  because  your 
name  is  on  a  church  record.  Walk  in  the  path  of  righteous- 
ness even  if  it  leads  to  a  coffin  and  the  graveyard. 

Jesus  gave  his  disciples  power  to  perform  miracles.  That 
same  power  can  be  delegated  to  you  and  me  today.  He 
always  spoke  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  future.  He  was  not 
there.  He  didn't  have  to  be.  They  had  Jesus,  but  the 
Church  needs  him  today.  It  needs  a  baptism  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  There  are  no  substitutes.  You  can  organize, 
prepare,  hire  the  best  singers  and  preachers  in  the  imiverse, 
but  you'll  get  no  power.  No  matter  what  Scriptural  knowl- 
edge he  may  have,  no  matter  if  he  prays  so  that  it  reaches 
the  stars,  no  matter  if  his  sermons  sway  the  congregation 
with  their  word  pictures,  no  matter  if  the  singers  warble 
faultlessly  and  to  beat  the  band — the  preacher  and  the 
singers  will  produce  no  more  effect  than  the  beating  of  a 
drum  or  the  running  of  a  music  box.  The  preacher  who 
murders  the  king's  EngUsh  four  times  to  every  sentence  and 
has  the  Holy  Ghost  will  get  the  revival. 

The  Church  today  needs  power.  It  has  plenty  of  wealth, 
culture  and  numbers.  There  is  no  substitute  for  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  you  cannot  have  power  without  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  ours  by  the  promise  of  Christ.  To 
receive  him  we  must  give  up  all  sin  and  walk  in  the  path  of 
righteousness  even  if  it  carries  us  to  our  graves  or  across 
the  seas  as  a  missionary.  Give  up  everything  the  Lord 
forbids  even  if  it  is  as  important  to  you  as  your  hand  or 
your  eye. 


Dear  Friend: 

You  have  by  this  act  of  coming 
forward  pubHcly  acknowledged 
your  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  as  your 
personal  Saviour.  No  one  could 
possibly  be  more  rejoiced  that  you 
have  done  this,  or  be  more  anxious 
for  you  to  succeed  and  get  the 
most  joy  out  of  the  Christian  life, 
than  I.  Therefore,  I  ask  you  to 
read  carefully  this  little  tract. 
Paste  it  in  your  Bible  and  read  it 
frequently. 


y-  QOlf>L\  >:rsr 


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WHAT    IT     MEANS    TO     BE     A 
CHRISTIAN 


"A  Christian  is  any  man,  woman  or  child  who  comes 
to  God  as  a  lost  sinner,  accepts  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as 
their  personal  Saviour,  surrenders  to  Him  as  their  Lord 
and  Master,  confesses  Him  as  such  before  the  world,  and 
strives  to  please  Him  in  everything  day  by  day." 

Have  you  come  to  God  realizing  that  you  are  a  lost  sin- 
ner? Have  you  accepted  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  your 
personal  Saviour;  that  is,  do  you  believe  with  all  your  heart 
that  God  laid  all  your  iniquity  on  Him?  (Isa.  53:5-6)  and 
that  He  bore  the  penalty  of  your  sins  (I  Peter  2:24),  and 
that  your  sins  are  forgiven  because  Jesus  died  in  your  stead  ? 

Have  you  surrendered  to  Him  as  your  Lord  and 
Master?  That  is,  are  you  willing  to  do  His  will  even 
when  it  conflicts  with  your  desire? 

Have  you  confessed  to  Him  as  your  Saviour  and  Master 
before  the  world? 

Is  it  your  purpose  to  strive  to  please  Him  in  every- 
thing day  by  day? 

If  you  can  smcerely  answer  "YES"  to  the  foregoing 
questions,  then  you  may  know  on  the  authority  of  God's 
Word  that  you  are  NOW  a  child  of  God  (John  1:12),  that 
you  have  NOW  eternal  life  (John  3:36);  that  is  to  say,  if 
you  have  done  your  part  (i.  e.,  believe  that  Christ  died  in 
your  place,  and  receive  Him  as  your  Saviour  and  Master) 
God  has  done  HIS  part  and  imparted  to  you  His  own 
nature  (H  Peter  1:4). 

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HOW  TO  MAKE  A  SUCCESS  OF  THE 
CHRISTIAN  LIFE 


Now  that  you  are  a  child  of  God  your  growth  depends 
upon  yourself. 

It  is  impossible  for  you  to  become  a  useful  Chris- 
tian unless  you  are  willing  to  do  the  things  which  are 
absolutely  essential  to  your  spiritual  growth.  To  this  end 
the  following  suggestions  will  be  found  to  be  of  vital  im- 
portance: 

1.  STUDY  THE  BIBLE:      Set  aside  at  least  fifteen  min- 

utes a  day  for  Bible  Study,  Let  God  talk  to  you 
fifteen  minutes  a  day  through  His  Word.  Talk  to 
God  fifteen  minutes  a  day  in  prayer.  Talk  for  God 
fifteen  minutes  a  day. 

"As  new-born  babes  desire  the  sincere  milk  of 
the  Word,  that  ye  may  grow  thereby." — I  Peter  2:2. 

The  word  of  God  is  food  for  the  soul. 

Commit  to  memory  one  verse  of  Scripture  each  day. 

Join  a  Bible  class.     (Psa.  119:11.) 

2.  PRAY    MUCH:     Praying  is  talking  to  God.     Talk  to 

liim  about  everything — your  perplexities,  joys,  sorrows, 

sins,  mistakes,  friends,  enemies. 

"  Be  careful  for  nothing,  but  in  everything  by  prayer 
and  supplication  with  thanksgiving  let  your  requests 
be  made  known  unto  God."     Phil.  4:6. 

3.  WIN  SOMEONE  FOR  CHRIST:     For  spiritual  growth 

you  need  not  only  food  (Bible  study)  but  exercise. 
Work  for  Christ.  The  only  work  Christ  ever  set  for 
Christians  is  to  win  others. 

"Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel 
to  every  creature."     Mark  16:15. 

"When  I  say  unto  the  wicked,  thou  shalt  surely 
die;  and  thou  givest  him  not  warning,  nor  speakest 
to  warn  the  wicked  from  his  wicked  way,  to  save  his 
life;  the  same  wicked  man  shall  die  in  his  iniquity;  but 
his  blood  will  I  require  at  thine  hand." — Ezek.  3:18. 

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4.  SHUN  EVIL  COMPANIONS:    Avoid  bad  people,  bad 

books,  bad  thoughts.     Read  the  First  Psalm. 

"Be  ye  not  unequally  yoked  together  with  unbe- 
lievers :  for  what  fellowship  hath  righteousness  with 
unrighteousness,  and  what  communion  hath  light  with 
darkness — ^what  part  hath  he  that  believeth  with  an 
infidel — wherefore  come  out  from  among  them  and 
be  ye  separate,  saith  the  Lord." — ^11  Cor.  6:14-17. 

Try  to  win  the  wicked  for  God,  but  (do  not  choose 
them  for  your  companions. 

5.  JOIN  SOME  CHURCH:    Be  taithful  in  your  attend- 

ance at  the  Sabbath  and  mid-week  services. 

"Not  forsaking  the  assembling  of  ourselves  together, 
as  the  manner  of  some  is." — ^Heb.  10:25. 

Co-operate  with  your  pastor.  God  has  appointed 
the  pastor  to  be  a  shepherd  over  the  church  and  you 
should  give  him  due  reverence  and  seek  to  assist 
him  in  his  plans  for  the  welfare  of  the  church. 

6.  GIVE  TO  THE  SUPPORT  OF  THE  LORD'S  WORK: 

Give  as  the  Lord  hath  prospered  you. — I  Cor.  16:2. 

"Give  not  grudgingly  or  of  necessity,  for  God 
loveth  a  cheerful  giver." — I  Cor.  9:7. 

7.  DO  NOT  BECOME  DISCOURAGED:    Expect  tempta- 

tions, discouragement    and    persecution;  the  Chris- 
tian Ufe  is  warfare. 

"Yea  and  all  who  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus 
shall  suffer  persecution." — U  Tim.  3:12. 
The  eternal  God  is  thy  refuge.  We  have  the  promises 
that  all  things,  even  strange  and  hard  unaccountable  obsta- 
cles, work  together  for  our  good.  Many  of  God's  brightest 
saints  were  once  as  weak  as  you  are,  passed  through  dark 
tunnels  and  the  hottest  fire,  and  yet  their  lives  were  enriched 
by  their  experiences,  and  the  world  made  better  because  of 
their  having  lived  in  it. 

Read  often  the  following  passages  of  Scripture:  Romans 
8:18;  Jamesl:12;  I  Corinthians  10:13. 

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CHAPTER  XXV 
A  Life  Enlistment 

When  a  man,  after  starting  to  be  a  Christian,  looks  back,  it  is  only  a 
question  of  time  until  he  goes  back, — Billy  Sunday. 

PROFESSOR  WILLIAM  JAMES,  the  philosopher, 
contended  that  there  was  a  scientific  value  to  the 
stories  of  Christian  conversions;  that  these  properly- 
belonged  among  the  data  of  religion,  to  be  weighed  by  the 
man  of  science.  Harold  Begbie's  notable  book,  "Twice- 
Born  Men,"  was  recognized  by  Professor  James  as  a  con- 
tribution to  the  science  of  religion;  for  it  was  simply  a 
collection  of  the  stories  of  men  whose  hves  had  been  trans- 
formed by  the  gospel  which  the  Salvation  Army  had  carried 
to  them.  A  whole  library  of  such  books  as  "Twice-Born 
Men"  could  be  written  concerning  the  converts  of  Billy 
Sunday.  His  converts  not  only  "right-about-face"  but 
they  keep  marching  in  the  new  direction.  Their  enlistment 
is  for  life. 

This  point  is  one  of  the  most  critical  in  the  whole  realm 
of  the  discussion  of  revivals.  Times  without  number  it  has 
been  charged  that  the  converts  of  evangehsts  lose  their 
reUgion  as  quickly  as  they  got  it.  A  perfectly  fair  question 
to  ask  concerning  these  Billy  Sunday  campaigns  is,  "Are 
they  temporary  attacks  of  religious  hysteria,  mere  efferves- 
cent moods  of  spiritual  exaltation,  which  are  dissipated  by 
the  first  contact  with  life's  realities?" 

Here  is  opportimity  for  the  acid  test.  Billy  Sunday 
has  been  conducting  revival  meetings  long  enough  to 
enable  an  investigator  to  go  back  over  his  trail  and  trace 
his  results.  After  years  have  passed,  are  there  still  evidences 
of  the  presence  and  work  of  the  evangehst?  To  this  only 
one  answer  can  be  made.  The  most  skeptical  and  antag- 
onistic person  cannot  fail  to  find  hundreds  and  thousands 

(311) 


312  A  LIFE  ENLISTMENT 

of  Billy  Sunday  converts  in  the  churches  of  the  towns  where 
the  envangehst  has  conducted  meetings  during  the  past 
twenty  years. 

Not  all  of  the  converts  have  held  fast;  we  cannot  for- 
get that  one  of  the  Twelve  was  a  complete  ren^gade,  and  that 
the  others  were  for  a  time  weak  in  the  faith.  Alas,  this 
condition  is  true  of  Christian  converts,  however  made. 
The  terrible  record  revealed  in  each  year's  church  statistics, 
of  members  who  are  missing — entirely  lost  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  Church — is  enough  to  restrain  every  pastor  from 
making  uncharitable  remarks  upon  the  recruits  won  by  an 
evangelist.  The  fact  to  be  stressed  at  this  present  moment 
is  that  Billy  Sunday  converts  are  to  be  found  in  all  depart- 
ments of  church  work,  in  the  ministry  itself,  and  on  the 
foreign  field. 

One  reason  for  the  conservation  of  the  results  of  the 
Sunday  campaigns  is  that  all  the  powers  of  the  evangeUst 
and  his  organization  are  exerted  to  lead  those  who  have 
confessed  Christ  in  the  tabernacles  to  become  members  of 
the  church  of  their  choice,  at  the  earliest  possible  date. 
Sunday  says  candidly  that  converts  cannot  expect  to  grow 
in  grace  and  usefulness  outside  the  organized  Church  of 
Christ.  Thus  it  comes  about  that  before  a  Sunday  cam- 
paign closes,  and  for  months  afterwards,  the  church  papers 
report  wholesale  accessions  to  the  local  congregations  of  all 
denominations.  Three  thousand  new  church  members  were 
added  in  a  single  Sunday  in  the  city  of  Scranton. 

What  these  campaigns  mean  in  the  way  of  rehabilitating 
individual  churches  is  illustrated  by  what  a  Scranton  pastor 
said  to  me  toward  the  close  of  the  Sunday  campaign: 
"You  know  my  church  burned  down  a  short  time  ago.  We 
have  been  planning  to  rebuild.  Now,  however,  we  shall  have 
to  rebuild  to  twice  the  size  of  our  old  church,  and  we  have 
enough  new  members  already  to  make  sure  that  our  financial 
problem  will  be  a  simple  one."  In  other  words,  the  coming 
of  the  evangelist  had  turned  into  a  triumph  and  a  new  start- 
ing point  for  this  congregation  what  might  have  otherwise 
been  a  time  of  discouragement  and  temporary  defeat 


A  LIFE  ENLISTMENT  813 

For  a  moment  the  reader  should  take  the  viewpoint  of 
the  pastors  who  have  been  struggling  along  faithfully,  year 
after  year,  at  best  getting  but  a  few  score  of  new  members 
each  year.  Then  Billy  Sunday  appears.  The  entire  atmos- 
phere and  outlook  of  the  church  is  transformed  within  a  few 
days.  Optimism  reigns.  Lax  church  members  become 
Christian  workers,  and  enthusiasm  for  the  kingdom  pervades 
the  entire  membership.  The  churches  of  the  community 
find  themselves  bound  together  in  a  new  soUdarity  of  fellow- 
ship and  service. 

Then,  to  crown  all,  into  the  church  membership  come 
literally  hundreds  of  men  and  women,  mostly  young,  and 
all  burning  with  the  convert's  ardent  zeal  to  do  service  for 
the  Master.  Can  anybody  but  a  pastor  conceive  the  thrill 
that  must  have  come  to  the  minister  of  a  Wilkes-Barre 
church  which  added  one  thousand  new  members  to  its 
existing  roll,  as  a  result  of  the  Billy  Sunday  campaign  in 
that  city? 

Six  months  after  the  Sunday  meetings  in  Scranton  I 
visited  Carbondale,  a  small  town  sixteen  miles  distant  from 
Scranton,  and  talked  with  two  of  the  resident  pastors.  There 
are  four  Protestant  churches  in  Carbondale,  which  have 
already  received  a  thousand  new  members  within  five  months. 
All  these  converts  are  either  the  direct  result  of  Billy  Simday's 
preaching,  or  else  the  converts  of  converts.  Out  of  a  Prot- 
estant population  of  nine  thousand  persons,  the  Carbondale 
churches  have  received  one-ninth  into  their  membership 
within  six  months.  These  bare  figures  do  not  express  the 
greater  total  of  Christian  service  and  enthusiasm  which 
permeates  the  community  as  an  abiding  legacy  of  the  Billy 
Sunday  campaign.  These  converts  consider  that  they  have 
been  saved  to  serve. 

Asked  to  fix  a  period  after  which  he  would  expect  a 
reaction  from  the  Sunday  meetings,  a  critic  would  probably 
say  about  one  year.  On  this  point  we  learn  that  when  the 
evangelist  visited  the  city  of  Scranton,  which  is  within  an 
hour's  ride  of  Wilkes-Barre,  he  found  that  the  influence  of 


314  A  LIFE  ENLISTMENT 

the  meetings  which  he  had  held  a  year  previously  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  were  perhaps  the  most  potent  single  factor  in  preparing 
the  people  of  Scranton  for  his  coming.  Night  after  night 
Wilkes-BaiTe  sent  delegations  of  scores  and  hundreds  over 
to  the  Scranton  Tabernacle.  Investigators  from  afar  who 
came  to  look  into  the  Scranton  meetings  were  advised  to  go 
to  the  neighboring  city  to  ascertain  what  were  the  effects 
of  the  campaign  after  a  year.  The  result  was  always  con- 
vincing. 

When  the  evangeUst  was  in  Pittsburgh,  MeKeesport, 
where  he  had  been  six  years  before,  sent  many  delegations 
to  hear  him  and  on  one  occasion  fifteen  hundred  persons  made 
the  journey  from  MeKeesport  to  Pittsburgh  to  testify  to  the 
lasting  benefits  which  their  city  had  received  from  the 
evangelist's  visit. 

Usually  some  organization  of  the  "trail-hitters"  is 
effected  after  the  evangehst's  departure.  These  are  bands 
for  personal  Christian  work.  The  most  remarkable  of  them 
all  is  reported  from  Wichita,  Kansas,  where  the  aftermath 
of  the  Sunday  meetings  has  become  so  formidable  as  to 
suggest  a  new  and  general  method  of  Christian  service  by 
laymen. 

The  Sunday  converts  organized  themselves  into  "Gos- 
pel Teams,"  who  announce  that  they  are  ready  to  go  any- 
where and  conduct  religious  meetings,  especially  for  men. 
They  offer  to  pay  their  own  expenses,  although  frequently 
the  communities  inviting  them  refuse  to  permit  this.  Some- 
times these  Gospel  Teams  travel  by  automobiles  or  street 
cars  and  sometimes  they  make  long  railway  journeys. 

The  men  have  so  multiplied  themselves  that  there  are 
now  more  than  three  himdred  Gospel  Teams  in  this  work 
and  they  have  formed  "The  National  Federation  of  Gospel 
Teams"  of  which  Claude  Stanley  of  Wichita  is  president  and 
West  Goodwin  of  Cherryvale,  Kansas,  is  secretary. 

Up  to  date,  the  tremendous  total  of  eleven  thousand 
conversions  is  reported  by  these  imsalaried,  self-supporting 
gospel  workers,  who  joyously  acclaim  Billy  Sunday  as  their 


A  LIFE  ENLISTMENT  316 

leader.  They  represent  his  teachmgs  and  his  spirit  in 
action. 

The  most  celebrated  of  these  gospel  teams  is  "The 
Business  Men's  Team"  of  Wichita,  an  interdenominational 
group.  It  comprises  such  men  as  Henry  Allen,  the  editor  of 
the  Wichita  Beacon  and  one  of  the  foremost  public  men  of 
the  state;  the  president  of  the  Inter-urban  Railway;  the 
president  of  the  Kansas  Mutual  Bank,  and  other  eminent 
business  men.  This  team  has  visited  eleven  states  in  its 
work,  all  without  a  penny  of  cost  to  the  Church,  and  with 
results  exceeding  those  achieved  by  many  great  and  expen- 
sive organizations. 

The  Billy  Sunday  converts  not  only  stick  but  they 
multiply  themselves  and  become  effective  servants  of  the 
Church  and  the  kingdom. 

Nobody  is  left  to  conjecture  as  to  the  sort  of  counsel 
that  Mr.  Sunday  gives  his  converts.  Every  man,  woman  and 
child  who  ''hits  the  trail"  is  handed  a  leaflet,  telling  him 
how  to  make  a  success  of  the  Christian  life. 

A  trumpet  call  to  Christian  service  by  every  confessed 
disciple  of  Jesus  Christ  is  sounded  by  the  evangelist.  The 
following  is  an  appeal  of  this  sort: 

"SHARP-SHOOTERS" 

The  twentieth  century  has  witnessed  two  apparently 
contradictory  facts:  The  decline  of  the  Church  and  the 
growth  of  reUgious  hunger  in  the  masses.  The  world  during 
the  nineteenth  and  early  twentieth  centuries  passed  through 
a  period  of  questioning  and  doubts,  during  which  everything 
in  heaven  and  earth  was  put  into  a  crucible  and  melted  down 
into  constituent  elements.  During  that  period  many  laymen 
and  preachers  lost  their  moorings. 

The  definite  challenging  note  was  lost  out  of  the  life 
of  the  ministry.  The  preacher  today  is  oftentimes  a  human 
interrogation  point,  preaching  to  empty  pews.  The  hurrjdng, 
busy  crowd  in  the  street  is  saying  to  the  preacher  and  the 
Church,  "When  you  have  something  definite  to  say  about 


316  A  UFE  ENLISTMENT 

the  issues  of  life,  heaven,  hell  and  salvation,  we  will  listen; 
till  then  we  have  no  time  for  you."  I  beUeve  we  are  on  the 
eve  of  a  great  national  revival.  The  mission  of  the  Church  is 
to  carry  the  gospel  of  Christ  to  the  world. 

I  beUeve  that  lack  of  efficient  personal  work  is  one  of 
the  curses  of  the  Church  today.  The  people  of  the  Church 
are  like  squirrels  in  a  cage.  Lots  of  activity,  but  accompUsh- 
ing  nothing.  It  doesn't  require  a  Christian  Ufe  to  sell  oyster 
soup  or  run  a  bazaar  or  a  rummage  sale. 

Last  year  many  churches  reported  no  new  members  on 
confession  of  faith.  Why  these  meager  results  with  this 
tremendous  expenditure  of  energy  and  money?  Why  are 
so  few  people  coming  into  the  kingdom?  I  will  tell  you 
what  is  the  matter — ^there  is  not  a  definite  effort  put  forth 
to  persuade  a  definite  person  to  receive  a  definite  Saviour 
at  a  definite  time,  and  that  definite  time  is  now. 

I  tell  you  the  Church  of  the  future  must  have  personal 
work  and  prayer.  The  trouble  with  some  churches  is  that 
they  think  the  preacher  is  a  sort  of  ecclesiastical  locomotive, 
who  will  snort  and  puff  and  pull  the  whole  bunch  through 
to  glory. 

A  politician  will  work  harder  to  get  a  vote  than  the 
Church  of  God  will  work  to  have  men  brought  to  Christ. 
Watch  some  of  the  preachers  go  down  the  aisles.  They  drag 
along  as  if  they  had  grindstones  tied  to  their  feet. 

No  political  campaign  is  won  by  any  stump  speaker  or 
any  spell-binder  on  the  platform.  It  is  won  by  a  man-to-man 
canvass. 

The  Value  of  Personal  Work 

The  children  of  this  generation  are  wiser'than  the  chil- 
dren of  fight.  You  can  learn  something  from  the  world  about 
how  to  do  things.  Personal  work  is  the  simplest  and  most 
effective  form  of  work  we  can  engage  in.  Andrew  wins 
Peter.  Peter  wins  three  thousand  at  Pentecost.  A  man 
went  into  a  boot  and  shoe  store  and  talked  to  the  clerk  about 
Jesus  Christ.    He  won  the  clerk  to  Christ.   Do  you  know  who 


A  LIFE  ENLISTMENT  817 

that  young  man  was?  It  was  Dwight  L.  Moody,  and  he 
went  out  and  won  multitudes  to  Christ.  The  name  of  the 
man  who  won  him  was  Kimball,  and  Kimball  wiU  get  as 
much  reward  as  Moody.  Kimball  worked  to  win  Moody 
and  Moody  worked  and  won  the  multitude.  Andrew  wins 
Peter  and  Peter  wins  three  thousand  at  Pentecost.  That  is 
the  way  God  works  today.  Charles  G.  Fioney,  after  learn- 
ing the  name  of  any  man  or  woman,  would  invariably  ask: 
* '  Are  you  a  Christian  ? ' '  There  isn't  any  one  here  who  hasn ' t 
drag  enough  to  win  somebody  to  Christ. 

Personal  work  is  a  difficult  form  of  work;  more  difficult 
than  preaching,  singing,  attending  conventions,  giving  your 
goods  to  feed  the  poor.  The  devil  will  let  you  have  an  easy 
time  until  God  asks  you  to  do  personal  work.  It  is  all  right 
while  you  sing  in  the  choir,  but  just  as  soon  as  you  get  out 
and  work  for  God  the  devil  will  be  on  your  back  and  you  will 
see  all  the  flimsy  excuses  you  can  offer  for  not  working  for 
the  Lord.  If  you  want  to  play  into  the  hands  of  the  devil 
begin  to  offer  your  excuses. 

There  are  many  people  who  want  to  win  somebody  for 
Jesus  and  they  are  waiting  to  be  told  how  to  do  it.  I  believe 
there  are  hundreds  and  thousands  of  people  who  are  willing 
to  work  and  who  know  something  must  be  done,  but  they 
are  waiting  for  help;  I  mean  men  and  women  of  ordinary 
abihty.  Many  people  are  sick  and  tired  and  disgusted  with 
just  professing  rehgion;  they  are  tired  of  trotting  to  church 
and  trotting  home  again.  They  sit  in  a  pew  and  Usten  to  a 
sermon ;  they  are  tired  of  that,  not  speaking  to  anybody  and 
not  engaging  in  personal  work;  they  are  getting  tired  of  it 
and  the  church  is  dying  because  of  it.  A  lot  should  wake  up 
and  go  to  the  rescue  and  win  souls  for  Jesus  Christ. 

I  want  to  say  to  the  deacons,  stewards,  vestrymen, 
prudential  conomittees,  that  they  should  work,  and  the 
place  to  begin  is  at  your  own  home.  Sit  down  and  write 
the  names  of  five  or  ten  friends,  and  many  of  them  members 
of  your  own  church,  and  two  or  three  of  those  not  members 
of  any  church ;  yet  you  mingle  with  these  people  in  the  club, 


818  A  LIFE  ENLISTMENT 

in  business,  in  your  home  in  a  friendly  way.  You  meet 
them  every  week,  some  of  them  every  day,  and  you  never 
speak  to  them  on  the  subject  of  rehgion;  you  never  bring 
it  to  their  attention  at  all;  you  should  be  up  and  doing 
something  for  God  and  God's  truth.  There  are  always 
opportimities  for  a  Christian  to  work  for  God.  There  is 
always  a  chance  to  speak  to  some  one  about  God.  Where 
you  find  one  that  won't  care,  you'll  find  one  thousand  that 
will. 

My  Father's  Business 

Be  out  and  out  for  God.  Have  a  heart-to-heart  talk 
with  some  people  and  win  them  to  Christ.  The  first  re^ 
corded  words  of  Jesus  are  these:  "Wist  ye  not  that  I  must 
be  about  my  Father's  business? " 

The  trouble  is  we  are  too  lackadaisical  in  religion, 
indifferent  and  dead  and  lifeless.  That  is  the  spirit  of  the 
committees  today  in  the  Chm-ch.  I  think  the  multitude  in 
the  Church  will  have  to  get  converted  themselves  before  they 
can  lead  any  one  else  to  Christ.  It  is  my  firm  conviction,  after 
many  years  of  experience  in  the  work,  that  half  the  people 
in  the  Church  have  never  been  converted,  have  never  been 
bom  again.  I  take  up  a  bottle  of  water,  uncork  it  and  take 
a  drink.  That  is  experimental.  One  sip  of  water  can  con- 
vince me  more  of  its  power  to  slake  thirst  than  40,000 
books  written  on  the  subject.  You  know  quinine  is  bitter 
because  you  have  experimented;  you  know  fire  will  bum 
because  you  have  experimented;  you  know  ice  will  freeze; 
it  is  cold;  you  have  experimented. 

A  man  must  experience  rehgion  to  know  God.  All  you 
know  of  God  is  what  you  read  in  some  book  or  what  you 
heard  somebody  else  talk  about;  you  haven't  hved  so  that 
you  could  learn  first-handed,  so  most  of  your  rehgion  is 
second-handed.  There  is  too  much  second-hand  stuff  in  the 
Church.  It  is  your  privilege  to  know  and  to  have  salvation. 
Jesus  said  to  Peter:  ''When  you  are  converted  strengthen 
your  brethren.'*  You  are  not  in  a  position  to  help  anybody 
else  unless  you  have  been  helped  yourself. 


A  LIFE  ENLISTMENT  319 

So  many  church  members  know  nothing  about  the 
Bible.  A  preacher  will  take  a  text  from  the  Bible  and  get  as 
far  from  it  as  the  East  is  from  the  West.  A  yornig  preacher 
just  out  of  the  seminary  said :  "Must  I  confine  myself  in  my 
preaching  to  the  Bible?  "  Just  Uke  a  shrimp  who  would  say, 
"Must  I  confine  my  roaming  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean?  "  Ima- 
gine a  little  minnow  saying:  "Must  I  confine  myself  to  the 
Atlantic  Ocean?"  "Must  I  confine  myself  to  the  Bible?" 
Just  as  if  his  intellect  would  exhaust  it  in  two  or  three  ser- 
mons. 

We  have  cut  loose  from  the  Bible,  and  any  man  who  is 
living  contrary  to  the  Bible  is  a  sinner,  whether  he  feels 
like  a  sinner  or  not.  Every  man  who  is  living  contrary  to 
the  laws  is  a  criminal,  whether  he  feels  like  it  or  not.  A 
man  who  breaks  the  law  of  God  is  a  sinner,  and  is  on  the  road 
to  hell,  whether  he  feels  hke  it  or  like  a  saint.  Jesus  came 
into  the  world  to  reveal  God  to  man,  and  man  reveals  him  to 
man.  The  only  revelation  we  have  of  Jesus  is  through  the 
Bible.  You  have  got  to  know  Jesus  to  know  God;  that's 
how  I  get  through  there.  There  is  no  revelation  for  God  to 
make  of  himself  greater  than  he  has  made  through  Jesus 
Christ.  It  is  not  possible  for  the  human  intellect  to  have 
a  greater  conception  of  God.  Every  man  needs  Christ. 
Jesus  is  the  Saviour  that  he  needs  and  he  has  got  to  know  the 
Bible  to  show  what  it  is  that  makes  Jesus  the  Saviour.  He 
needs  a  Saviour  and  now  is  the  time  to  accept  the  Savioiu* 
and  be  saved.  That's  what  the  Bible  says.  Whatever  the 
Bible  says,  write  "finish"  after  it  and  stop. 

Feeding  the  Spiritual  Life 

Then  you  need  the  Holy  Spirit.  Without  him  you  can- 
not do  anything.  The  spirit  of  God  works  through  clean 
hands.  There  are  too  many  dirty  hands,  too  many  dirty 
people  trying  to  preach  a  clean  gospel.  I  have  known  men 
that  have  preached  the  truth  and  God  has  honored  the  truth, 
although  their  lives  were  not  as  they  should  be.  But  God 
honored  the  truth  and  not  the  people  who  preached  the 


320  A  LIFE  ENLISTMENT 

truth.  But  if  they  had  been  Christians  themselves  then 
God  would  have  honored  them  more,  because  he  would  have 
honored  them  and  the  truth. 

Prayer.  Three-fourths  of  the  church  members  have  no 
family  prayer.  They  let  spiritual  life  starve.  That  is  the 
reason  the  pews  are  full  of  driftwood;  that  is  the  reason  that 
religion  is  but  a  mirage  to  many. 

Pray  God  to  give  you  power.  Pray  God  to  give  you 
power  to  carry  on  his  work  after  you  have  become  converted. 
I  don't  preach  a  sermon  that  I  don't  pray  God  for  help,  and 
I  never  finish  a  sermon  that  I  don't  thank  God  that  I  have 
preached  it.  Then  I  say:  " Lord,  you  take  care  of  the  seed 
I  have  sown  in  that  sermon."  I  think  the  Church  needs  a 
baptism  of  good,  pure  "horse  sense." 

Pure  hearts.  If  I  have  any  iniquity  in  my  heart  the 
Lord  will  not  come  in.  We  need  a  wise  head.  We  need 
horse  sense  in  preaching.  We  need  horse  sense  in  what  we 
do.  I  think  God  is  constantly  looking  for  a  company  of 
men  and  women  that  are  constantly  alive.  There  are  too 
many  dead  ones.  He  needs  men  and  women  that  are  always 
at  it,  not  only  during  the  revival;  we  need  to  be  full  of  faith; 
dead  in  earnest,  never  give  up,  a  bulldog  tenacity  and  stick- 
to-it-iveness  for  the  cause  of  God  Almighty. 

The  Dignity  of  Personal  Work 

If  it  is  beneath  yoiu*  dignity  to  do  personal  work  then 
you  are  above  your  Master.  If  you  are  not  willing  to  do 
what  he  did,  then  don't  call  him  your  Lord.  The  servant 
is  not  greater  than  the  owner  of  the  house.  The  chaufifeur 
is  not  greater  than  the  owner  of  the  automobile.  The  ser- 
vant on  the  railroad  is  not  greater  than  the  owners  of  the 
road.  Certainly  they  are  not  greater  than  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

It  requires  an  effort  to  win  souls  to  Christ.  There  is 
no  harder  work  and  none  brings  greater  results  than  winning 
souls. 

You'll  need  courage.    It  is  hard  to  do  personal  work  SLud 


A  LIFE  ENLISTMENT  «21 

the  devil  will  try  to  oppose  you.  You'll  seek  excuses  to  try 
to  get  out  of  it.  Many  people  who  attend  the  meetings 
regularly  now  will  begin  to  stay  at  home  when  asked  to  do 
personal  work.  It  will  surprise  you  to  see  them  he  to  get 
out  of  doing  personal  work. 

We  need  enthusiasm  for  God.  If  there  is  any  place  on 
God's  earth  that  needs  a  baptism  of  enthusiasm,  it  is  the 
church  and  the  prayer-meetings.  It  is  not  popular  in  some 
communities  and  in  some  churches  to  be  enthusiastic  for 
God.  You'll  never  accompUsh  anythiug  without  pure  en- 
thusiasm, and  don't  be  afraid  of  being  a  reUgious  enthusiast. 
Rehgion  is  too  cold.    Formahty  is  choking  it  in  the  pews. 

There  is  nothing  accomphshed  in  war,  poUtics  or  rehgion, 
without  enthusiasm.  Admiral  Decatur  once  gave  this 
toast:  "My  country:  May  she  always  be  right,  but  right 
or  wrong,  my  country!"    That's  enthusiasm. 

Perseverance  is  needed  to  conquer  in  this  old  life.  Per- 
severance is  contagious,  not  an  epidemic.  Rehgion  is 
contagious.  Roman  soldiers  shortened  their  swords  and 
added  to  their  kingdom.  You  shorten  the  distance  between 
you  and  the  sinner  and  you'll  add  to  the  kingdom  of  God. 
The  trouble  is  you  have  been  trying  to  reach  them  with  a 
ten-foot  pole.  Drop  your  dignity  and  formahty  and  walk 
up  to  them;  take  them  by  the  hand.  You  are  too  dignified. 
You  sit  in  your  fine  homes  and  see  the  town  going  to  hell. 

We  need  carefulness  to  win  souls.  The  way  to  win 
souls  is  to  be  careful  what  you  say.  Study  the  disposition 
of  the  person  with  whom  you  talk. 

We  need  tact.  Personal  work  is  the  department  of  the 
church  efficient  to  deal  with  the  individual  and  not  the  masses. 
It  is  analogous  to  the  sharpshooter  in  the  army  so  dreaded 
by  the  opposing  forces.  The  sharpshooter  picks  out  the 
pivotal  individual  instead  of  shooting  at  the  mass.  The 
preacher  shoots  with  a  siege  gun  at  long  range.  You  can 
go  to  the  individual  and  dispose  of  his  difficulties.  I  shoot 
out  there  two  or  three  hundred  feet  and  you  sit  right  beside 
people.     If  I  were  a  physician  and  you  were  sick  I'd  not 

fa 


S22  A  LIFE  ENLISTMENT 

prescribe  en  masse,  I'd  go  down  and  see  you  individually. 
I'd  try  to  find  out  what  was  the  matter  and  prescribe  what 
you  needed.  All  medicine  is  good  for  something,  but  not  for 
everything. 

We  need  sympathy.  One  of  the  noblest  traits  of  the 
human  character  is  sympathy.  It  levels  moimtains,  warms 
the  broken  heart  and  melts  the  iceberg.  Have  sympathy 
with  the  sinner.  Not  with  sin,  but  the  fact  that  he  is  one. 
God  hates  sin  and  the  devil.  He  will  not  compromise.  Have 
sympathy  with  the  girl  who  sins,  but  not  with  the  sin  that 
ruined  her.  Get  down  on  the  ground  where  the  others  are. 
You  are  away  up  there  saved,  but  you  must  get  down  and 
help  the  sinner. 

Five  Classes  of  People 

There  are  five  classes  of  people  and  this  classification 
will  touch  every  man  and  woman,  whether  in  Scranton, 
New  York  or  London. 

First,  those  who  can  not  attend  church,  and  you  will 
always  fiind  some.  Some  are  sick,  shut  in;  some  have  to 
work  in  hotels  and  restaiu*ants;  the  maids  in  your  house 
have  to  get  yoiu*  meals,  the  railroad  men  have  to  go  out,  the 
furnaces  must  be  kept  going  in  the  steel  works. 

Second,  those  who  can  attend  and  who  do  not  attend 
church.  There  are  millions  of  people  that  can  and  don't 
attend  chm'ch.  Some  fellows  never  darken  the  church  door 
until  they  die,  and  they  carry  their  old  carcass  in  to  have 
a  large  funeral.  It  is  no  compliment  to  any  man,  and  it  is 
an  insult  to  manhood,  and  disgrace  to  the  individual,  that  he 
never  darkens  the  chiu*ch  door.  But  he  darkens  the  door  of 
the  grog  shop  any  day. 

Third,  those  who  can  and  do  attend  church  and  who  are 
not  moved  by  the  preaching.  There  are  lots  of  people  who 
come  out  of  curiosity. 

Fourth,  those  who  can  go  to  church  and  those  who  do  go 
to  church  and  are  moved  by  the  preaching  and  convicted 
but  not  converted.     Every  man  that  hears  the  truth  is 


~    A  LIFE  ENLISTMENT  323 

convicted.  Talk  to  those  men  about  Jesus  Christ.  Get 
them  to  take  their  stand  for  righteousness. 

Fifth,  those  who  can  and  do  go  to  church  and  are  con- 
victed by  the  preaching  and  converted.  They  need  strength- 
ening. They  are  converted  now,  but  they  need  the  benefit 
of  your  experience.  You  say,  ^' Where  will  I  find  these 
people  to  talk  to  them?"  Where  won't  you  find  them? 
Where  can  you  find  a  place  where  they  are  not?  You  will 
only  find  one  place  where  they  are  not  and  that  is  in  the 
cemetery.  Right  in  your  neighborhood,  right  in  your  block, 
how  many  are  Christians?  Is  your  husband  a  Christian? 
Are  your  children  Christians?  If  they  are,  let  them  alone 
and  get  after  somebody  else's  husband  and  children.  Don't 
sit  down  and  thank  God  that  your  husband  and  children  are 
Christians.  Suppose  I  were  to  say:  "My  family,  my  George, 
my  Nell,  my  Paul,  my  Helen  are  Christians!"  We  are  all 
Christians,  let  the  rest  of  the  world  go  to  the  devil.  There 
is  too  much  of  that  spirit  in  the  Church  today. 

Go  from  house  to  house.  Go  to  the  people  in  your 
block,  in  your  place  of  business.  Have  you  said  anything 
to  the  telephone  girl  when  you  called  her  up?  You  are  quick 
enough  to  jump  on  her  when  she  gives  you  the  wrong  num- 
ber. Have  you  said  anything  to  the  delivery  boy — ^to  the 
butcher?  Have  you  asked  the  milkman?  Have  you  said 
anything  to  the  newsboy  who  throws  your  paper  on  the 
doorstep  at  night?  Have  you  called  them  up  at  the  news- 
paper office?  Have  you  said  anything  to  the  girl  who  waits 
on  you  at  the  store ;  to  the  servant  who  brings  your  dinner  in 
at  home ;  to  the  woman  who  scrubs  your  floors?  Where  will 
you  find  them? — where  won't  you  find  them? 

The  Privilege  of  Personal  Work 

Personal  work  is  a  great  privilege.  Not  that  God  needs 
us,  but  that  we  need  him.  Jesus  Christ  worked.  "I  must 
do  the  works  of  Him  that  sent  me."  So  must  you.  He 
didn't  send  me  to  work  and  you  to  loaf.  Honor  the  God  that 
gives  you  the  privilege  to  do  what  he  wants.    Jesus  worked. 


324 


A  LIFE  ENLISTMENT 


Please  God  and  see  how  it  will  delight  your  soul.  II 
you'll  win  a  soul  you  will  have  a  blessing  that  the  average 
church  member  knows  nothing  about.  They  are  absolute 
strangers  to  the  higher  Christian  life.  We  need  an  aroused 
church.    An  anxious  church  makes  anxious  sinners. 

If  all  the  Methodist  preachers  would  each  save  a  soul 
a  month  there  would  be  460,000  souls  saved  in  a  year.  If 
all  the  Baptist  preachers  would  each  save  a  soul  a  month 
there  would  be  426,000  souls  saved  in  a  year.  If  all  the  other 
evangehcal  preachers  would  save  a  soul  a  month  there  would 

be  1,425,000  souls 
saved  a  year.  Over 
7,000  Protestant 
churches  recently 
^^,  made  report  of  no 
accessions  on  con- 
fession of  faith. 
Christ  said  to  preach 
the  gospel  to  all  the 
world  and  that 
means  every  crea- 
ture in  the  world. 

Listen  to  this: 
There  are  13,000,000 
young  men  in  this 
country  between  the 
ages  of  sixteen  and 
thirty  years;  12,000,000  are  not  members  of  any  chiu-ch, 
Protestant  or  Cathohc;  5,000,000  of  them  go  to  church 
occasionally ;  7,000,000  never  darken  a  church  door  from  one 
year's  end  to  another.  They  fill  the  saloons  and  the  houses  of 
ill  fame,  the  haunts  of  vice  and  corruption,  and  yet  most 
young  men  have  been  touched  by  some  Sunday-school  in- 
fluences; but  you  don't  win  them  for  God  and  they  go 
into  the  world  never  won  for  God. 

I  want  to  tell  you  if  you  want  to  solve  the  problem  for 
the  future  get  hold  of  the  young  men  now.     Get  them  for 


^*  Mt  God,  I've  Got  Two  Boys  Down  There 


i 

IpjI 

■^^^^^tf^^-;-  ^ 

-3^' 


A  LIFE  ENLISTMENT  325 

God  now.  Save  your  boys  and  girls.  Save  the  young  man 
and  woman  and  you  launch  a  life-boat. 

At  the  Iroquois  fire  in  Chicago  six  hundred  people  were 
burned  to  death.  One  young  woman  about  seventeen  years 
of  age  fought  through  the  crowd,  but  her  hair  was  singed 
from  her  head,  her  clothes  were  burned,  her  face  blistered. 
She  got  on  a  street  car  to  go  to  her  home  in  Oak  Park.  She 
was  wringing  her  hands  and  crying  hysterically,  and  a 
woman  said  to  her:  "Why,  you  ought  to  be  thankful  you 
escaped  with  your  life." 

"I  escaped — but  I  didn't  save  anybody;  there  are 
hundreds  that  died.  To  think  that  I  escaped  and  didn't 
save  anybody." 

In  Pennsylvania  there  was  once  a  mine  explosion,  and 
the  people  were  rushing  there  to  help.  Up  came  an  old 
miner  seventy  or  eighty  years  of  age,  tired,  tottering  and 
exhausted.  He  threw  off  his  vest,  his  coat  and  hat  and  picked 
up  a  pick  and  shovel  Some  of  them  stopped  him  and  said : 
"What  is  the  matter?  You  are  too  old;  let  some  of  the 
younger  ones  do  that.     Stand  back." 

The  old  fellow  said:  "My  God,  I've  got  two  boys  down 
there!" 

So  you  see  it  seems  to  make  all  the  difference  when 
you've  got  some  boy  down  there. 

Who  is  wise?  You  say  Andrew  Carnegie,  the  million- 
aire, is  wise,  the  mayor,  the  judge,  the  governor,  the  educator, 
the  superintendent  of  schools,  the  principal  of  the  high 
school,  the  people  who  don't  worry  or  don't  live  for  pleasure, 
the  inventor.  But  what  does  the  Lord  say?  The  Lord 
says,  "He  who  winneth  souls  is  wise," 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
«*  A  Good  Soldier  of  Jesus  Christ " 

I'd  rather  iindertake  to  save  ten  drunkards  than  one  old  financia^i  Shy> 
lock — it  would  be  easier. — Billy  Sunday. 

SYMPATHETIC  observers  comment  in  distressed 
tones  upon  the  physical  exhaustion  of  Sunday  after 
every  one  of  his  addresses.  He  speaks  with  such 
intensity  and  vigor  that  he  is  completely  spent  by  every 
effort.  To  one  who  does  not  know  that  he  has  worked  at 
this  terrific  pace  for  near  a  score  of  years  it  seems  as  if  the 
evangeUst  is  on  the  verge  of  a  complete  collapse.  He 
certainly  seems  to  speak  ''as  a  djdng  man  to  dying  men." 
The  uttermost  ounce  of  his  energy  is  offered  up  to  each 
audience.     Billy  Sunday  is  an  unsparing  worker. 

For  a  month  or  six  weeks  of  every  year  he  gives  him- 
self to  rest.  The  remainder  of  the  year  he  is  under  a  strain 
more  intense  than  that  of  a  great  political  campaign. 
Even  his  Monday  rest  day,  which  is  supposed  to  be  devoted 
to  recuperation,  is  oftener  than  not  given  to  holding  special 
meetings  in  some  other  city  than  the  one  wherein  he  is 
campaigning.  Speaking  twice  or  oftener  every  day,  to 
audiences  averaging  many  thousands,  is  a  tax  upon  one's 
nerve  force  and  vitahty  beyond  all  computation.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  Sunday  has  his  administrative  work,  with 
its  many  perplexities  and  grave  responsibiUties. 

Withal,  the  evangelist,  like  every  other  man  pre- 
eminent in  his  calling,  suffers  a  great  loneliness;  he  has 
few  intimates  who  can  lead  his  mind  apart  from  his  work. 
What  says  Kipling,  in  his  "Song  of  Diego  Valdez,"  the 
lord  high  admiral  of  Spain,  who  pined  in  vain  for  the  com- 
radeship of  his  old  companions,  but  who,  m  the  aloneness 
of  eminence,  mourned  his  solitary  state? 

"They  sold  Diego  Valdez 
To  bondage  of  great  deeds." 


"A  GOOD  SOLDIER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST"     327 

The  computable  aggregate  of  Sunday's  work  is  almost 
unbelievable.  His  associates  say  that  his  converts  number 
about  three  hundred  thousand  persons.  That  is  a  greater 
total  than  the  whole  membership  of  the  entire  Christian 
Church,  decades  after  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord.  Imagine 
a  city  of  a  quarter  of  a  milUon  inhabitants,  every  one  of 
whom  was  a  zealous  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ.  What  a 
procession  these  "trail-hitters"  would  make  could  they 
all  be  gathered  into  one  great  campaign  parade! 

Of  course  these  converts  are  not  all  trophies  of  Billy 
Sunday's  preaching  power.  He  has  not  won  them  alone. 
He  has  merely  stood  in  the  forefront,  as  the  agent  of  the 
Church,  with  vast  co-operative  forces  behind  him.  Never- 
theless, he  has  been  the  occasion  and  the  instrument  for 
this  huge  accomphshment  in  the  Church's  conquest. 

When  it  comes  to  coxmting  up  the  aggregate  size  of 
Sunday's  audiences,  one  is  tempted  not  to  beheve  his  own 
figures,  for  the  total  runs  up  into  the  milUons,  and  even  the 
tens  of  milUons.  Probably  no  Uving  man  has  spoken  to 
so  great  numbers  of  human  beings  as  Billy  Sunday. 

More  eloquent  than  any  comment  upon  the  magnitude 
and  number  of  his  meetings  is  the  following  summary  of 
his  campaigns  gathered  from  various  sources.  Sunday  him- 
self does  not  keep  records  of  his  work.  His  motto  seems  to 
be,  "Forgetting  those  things  which  are  behind." 

In  1904r-5  Billy  Sunday  visited  various  cities  of  Illinois, 
where  conversions  ranged  in  numbers  from  650  to  1,800;  in 
Iowa,  where  conversions  ranged  from  400  to  1,000;  and  in  a 
few  other  towns.  In  1905-6  numerous  campaigns  in  Illinois, 
Iowa  and  Minnesota  produced  converts  ranging  from  550 
to  2,400,  the  highest  number  being  reached  in  Burlington, 
Iowa.  In  1906-7  the  converts  numbered  over  12,000,  with 
a  maximum  of  3,000  in  Kewanee,  Illinois.  In  1907-8  cam- 
paigns in  Illinois  and  Iowa,  and  one  in  Sharon,  Pennsylvania, 
reported  over  24,000  converts  in  all,  with  a  maximum  of 
6,700  in  Decatur,  Illinois.  In  1908-9  the  total  number  of 
converts  reached  over  18,000,  with  5,300  in  Spokane,  Wash- 


328    "A  GOOD  SOLDIER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST" 

ington,  and  4,700  in  Springfield,  Illinois.  In  1908-9  cam- 
paigns in  various  cities  reported  a  total  of  35,000  converts, 
with  6,600  in  Newcastle,  Pennsylvania,  5,900  in  Youngs- 
town,  Ohio,  and  5,000  in  Danville,  IlUnois.  In  1911-12 
campaigns  in  cities  of  Ohio,  in  Erie,  Pennsylvania,  and  in 
Wichita,  Kansas,  reported  a  total  of  36,000  converts,  with 
7,600  in  Toledo,  and  6,800  in  Springfield.  In  1912-13 
campaigns  in  other  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  cities  and  in 
Fargo,  North  Dakota;  South  Bend,  Indiana;  and  Wheeling. 
West  Virginia,  brought  81,000  converts,  with  a  minimum  in 
Fargo  of  4,000,  and  a  maximum  of  18,000  in  Columbus. 

The  following  table  gives  statistics  for  some  of  the 
cities  in  which  campaigns  have  resulted  in  more  than  five 
thousand  conversions: 

Population  Conversiona 

Philadelphia 1,500,000  41,724 

Pittsburgh,  Pa 533,905  26,601 

Columbus,  Ohio 181,511  18,137 

Scranton 150,000  18,000 

Wilkes-Barre,  Pa 67,105  16,584 

Johnstown,  Pa 55,482  11,829 

Des  Moines 100,000  10,200 

McKeesport,  Pa 42,694  10,022 

Wheeling,  W.  Va 41,641  8,300 

Denver 245,423  8,100 

Steubenville,  Ohio 22,391  7,888 

Toledo,  Ohio 168,497  7,686 

Springfield,  Ohio 46,921  6,804 

Newcastle,  Pa 36,280  6,683 

South  Bend,  Ind 53,684  6,398 

East  Liverpool,  Ohio 20,387  6,354 

Beaver  FaUs,  Pa 12,191  6,000 

Youngstown,  Ohio 79,066  6,916 

Huntington,  W.  Va 31,161  5,812 

Lima,  Ohio 30,508  5,659 

Canton,  Ohio 50,217  5,640 

Erie,  Pa 66,525  5,312 

Portsmouth,  Ohio 23,481  5,224 

Total  for  this  group  of  cities %559,070        250,872 


"A  GOOD  SOLDliijR  OF  JESUS  CHRIST"   329 

Wilkes-Barre's  16,000  conversions  bore  an  extraordinary 
relation  to  the  population  of  the  city,  which  is  but  67,105. 

Prior  to  the  Sunday  campaign  in  Steubenville,  Ohio, 
September  and  October,  1913  (where  the  converts  numbered 
8,000),  the  town  had  gone  ''wet"  by  1,400  majority;  after 
the  meetings  it  went  "dry"  by  300  majority. 

Johnstown,  Pennsylvania,  with  a  campaign  held  Novem- 
ber and  December,  1913,  reported  12,000  conversions,  and 
a  Billy  Sunday  Anti-saloon  League  of  10,000  men.  The 
fame  of  the  Pittsburgh  campaign,  January  and  February, 
1914,  is  in  all  the  churches;  27,000  converts  were  reported. 

Mrs.  Sunday  is  my  authority  for  these  and  the  following 
details  of  recent  meetings: 

The  Scran  ton  campaign  (March  and  April,  1914)  was 
unusual  in  several  respects.  It  not  only  reported  18,000 
converts,  but  it  also  held  the  greatest  industrial  parade, 
under  distinctively  Christian  auspices,  that  the  country  has 
ever  seen. 

During  1914  the  evangelist  also  worked  in  Huntington, 
W.  Va. ;  in  Colorado  Springs,  in  Denver,  and  in  Des  Moines, 
all  successful  meetings. 

Con/Ceming  the  Philadelphia  meetings,  during  the  first 
quarter  of  1915,  it  is  difficult  to  speak  with  moderation,  for 
they,  above  anything  else  this  generation  has  known,  have 
made  the  Gospel  a  vital  national  is^e. 

As  a  physical  feat,  the  preaching  of  an  average  of  two 
sermons  a  day,  each  an  hour  long  and  to  fifteen  thousand 
persons,  for  seventy-eight  days,  is  probably  without  parallel 
in  the  history  of  pubUc  speaking.  Sunday  literally  was  the 
dominant  theme  of  the  city's  conversation  and  interest. 

From  one  service  twenty  thousand  persons  were  turned 
away,  unable  to  gain  admission.  The  requests  for  delega- 
tion reservations  in  a  single  day  totaled  129,000  persons. 

Eleven  hundred  cases,  mostly  of  fainting,  were  treated 
in  the  Tabernacje  hospital;  five  thousand  babies  were  cared 
for  in  the  nursery. 

The  demand  for  Bibles  was  so  great  that  one  newspaper 


330     "A  GOOD  SOLDIER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST" 

sold  an  average  of  five  hundi'ed  Bibles  a  day  during  the 
campaign.  Fifty  thousand  men  were  added  to  the  Bible 
classes  of  Philadelphia. 

In  reading  such  a  compilation  as  the  foregoing,  it  is  to 
be  remembered  that  in  all  things  that  affect  spiritual  values 
the  only  true  record  is  that  which  is  kept  in  another  world. 

SUNDAY'S    "CONSECRATION"  SERMON 

"I  beseech  you,  therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of 
God,  that  ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy, 
acceptable  unto  God,  which  is  your  reasonable  service." 

The  armies  of  God  are  never  made  up  of  drafted  men 
and  women,  ordered  into  service  whether  willing  or  not.  God 
never  owned  a  slave.  God  doesn't  want  you  to  do  anything 
that  you  can't  do  without  protest.  This  is  not  a  call  to  hard 
duty,  but  an  invitation  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  privilege.  It 
is  not  a  call  to  hired  labor  to  take  the  hoe  and  go  into  the  field, 
but  the  appeal  of  a  loving  father  to  his  children  to  partake 
of  all  he  has  to  give. 

If  there  is  nothing  in  you  that  will  respond  to  God's 
appeal  when  you  think  of  his  mercies,  I  don't  think  much  of 
you.  The  impelling  motive  of  my  text  is  gratitude,  not  fear. 
It  looks  to  Calvary,  not  to  Sinai.  We  are  being  entreated, 
not  threatened.  That's  the  amazing  thing  to  me.  To 
think  that  God  would  entreat  us — ^would  stand  to  entreat  us! 
He  is  giving  me  a  chance  to  show  I  love  him. 

If  you  are  not  ready  to  offer  it  in  gratitude,  God 
doesn't  want  you  to  serve  him  through  fear,  but  because 
you  realize  his  love  for  you,  and  appreciate  and  respond 
to  it. 

A  business  man  who  loves  his  wife  will  never  be  too 
busy  to  do  something  for  her,  never  too  busy  to  stop  some- 
times to  think  of  how  good  she  has  been  and  what  she  has 
done  for  him.  If  men  would  only  think  of  the  things  God 
has  done  for  them  there  would  be  less  card-playing,  less 
thought  of  dinners  and  of  concerts  and  other  diversions  of 
the  world.     God  wants  us  to  sit  down  and  think  over  his 


"A  GOOD  SOLDIER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST"    331 

goodness  to  us.  The  man  who  doesn't  isn't  worth  a  nickel 
a  punch.  Has  God  done  anything  for  us  as  a  nation,  has  he 
done  anything  for  us  as  individuals,  that  commands  our 
gratitude? 

Astronomers  have  counted  three  hundred  and  eighty 
million  stars,  and  they  have  barely  commenced.  Why,  you 
might  as  well  try  to  count  those  countless  stars  as  to  try  to 
count  God's  mercies.  You  might  as  well  try  to  count  the 
drops  of  water  in  the  sea  or  the  grains  of  sand  upon  the 
shore.  If  we  only  think,  we  shall  say  with  David :  ''Accord- 
ing to  Thy  tender  mercies." 

God's  Mercies 

An  old  lady  said  one  morning  that  she  would  try  to 
count  all  God's  mercies  for  that  one  day,  but  at  noon  she 
was  becoming  confused,  and  at  three  o'clock  she  threw  up 
her  hands  and  said:  "They  come  three  times  too  fast  for 
me  to  count." 

Just  think  of  the  things  we  have  to  be  thankful  for!  A 
visitor  to  an  insane  asylum  was  walking  through  the  grounds 
and  as  he  passed  one  of  the  buildings  he  heard  a  voice  from  a 
barred  window  high  up  in  the  wall  and  it  said:  "Stranger, 
did  you  ever  thank  God  for  your  reason?"  He  had  never 
thought  of  that  before,  but  he  says  that  he  has  thought  of  it 
every  day  since.  Did  you  ever  think  that  thousands  of 
people  who  were  just  as  good  as  you  are,  are  beating  their 
heads  against  the  walls  of  padded  cells?  Did  you  ever  think 
what  a  blessed  thing  it  is  that  you  are  sane  and  you  go  about 
among  men  and  follow  your  daily  duties,  and  go  home  to 
be  greeted  by  yotu*  wife  and  have  your  children  climb  about 
you? 

Did  you  ever  thank  God  for  your  eyes?  Did  you  ever 
thank  him  that  you  can  see  the  sunrise  and  the  sunset  and 
can  see  the  flowers  and  the  trees  and  look  upon  the  storm? 
Did  you  ever  thank  God  that  you  have  two  good  eyes  while 
so  many  others  less  fortunate  than  you  must  grope  their  way 
\n  blindness  to  the  coffin? 


332   "A  GOOD  SOLDIER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST" 

Did  you  ever  thank  God  for  hearing?  That  you  can 
hear  music  and  the  voices  of  friends  and  dear  ones?  That 
you  can  leave  yoiu*  home  and  business,  and  come  here  and 
hear  the  songs  and  the  preaching  of  the  word  of  God?  Did 
you  ever  think  what  it  would  mean  to  be  deaf? 

Did  you  ever  thank  God  for  the  blessing  of  taste? 
Some  people  can't  tell  whether  they  are  eating  sawdust  and 
shavings  or  strawberries  and  ice  cream.  Think  of  the  good 
things  we  enjoy !  Others  have  tastes  so  vicious  that  they  find 
it  almost  impossible  to  eat.  God  might  have  made  our  food 
taste  like  quinine. 

Did  you  ever  thank  God  that  you  can  sleep?  If  not, 
you  ought  to  be  kept  awake  for  a  month.  Think  of  the 
thousands  who  suffer  from  pain  or  insomnia  so  that  they  can 
sleep  only  under  opiates.  Did  you  ever  wake  up  in  the 
morning  and  thank  God  that  you  have  had  a  good  night's 
rest?  If  you  haven't,  God  ought  to  keep  you  awake  for  a 
week,  then  you'd  know  you've  had  reason  to  be  thankful. 

Did  you  ever  thank  God  for  the  doctors  and  nurses  and 
hospitals?  For  the  siu'geon  who  comes  with  scalpel  to  save 
your  life  or  relieve  your  sufferings?  If  it  had  not  been  for 
them  you'd  be  imder  the  grass.  For  the  nurse  who  watches 
over  you  that  you  may  be  restored  to  health? 

Did  you  ever  thank  God  for  the  bread  you  eat,  while  so 
many  others  are  himgry?  Did  you  ever  thank  him  for  the 
enemy  that  has  been  baflfled,  for  the  he  against  you  that  has 
failed? 

Out  in  Elgin,  Illinois,  I  was  taken  driving  by  a  friend, 
and  he  said  that  he  wanted  me  to  go  with  him  to  see  a  man. 
He  took  me  to  see  a  man  who  was  lying  in  bed,  with  arms 
most  pitifully  wasted  by  suffering.  The  poor  fellow  said  he 
had  been  in  bed  for  thirty-two  years,  but  he  wasn't  worrying 
about  that.  He  said  he  was  so  sorry  for  the  well  people  who 
didn't  know  Jesus,  I  went  out  thanking  God  that  I  could 
walk.  If  your  hearts  are  not  made  of  stone  or  adamant 
they  will  melt  with  gratitude  when  you  think  of  the  many 
mercies,  the  tender  mercies,  of  God. 


"A  GOOD  SOLDIER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST"    333 

The  Living  Sacrifice 

"Brethren" — ^that's  what  God  calls  his  true  followers. 
No  speaking  from  the  loft.  If  there's  any  lesson  we  need  to 
learn  it  is  that  of  being  "brethren." 

Sinners  are  not  called  "brethren"  in  the  Bible.  God 
commands  sinners.  They  are  in  rebellion.  He  entreats 
Christians.  When  Lincoln  called  for  volunteers  he  addressed 
men  as  "citizens  of  the  United  States,"  not  as  foreigners. 

The  man  who  is  appreciative  of  God's  mercies  will  not 
have  much  mercy  on  himself.  Don't  stand  up  and  say: 
"I'll  do  what  Jesus  bids  me  to  do,  and  go  where  he  bids  me  to 
go,"  then  go  to  bed.  Present  your  bodies — ^not  mine — ^not 
those  of  your  wives;  you  must  present  yom*  own.  Present 
your  bodies;  not  your  neighbor's;  not  your  children's;  it 
is  their  duty  to  do  that.  Do  you  trust  God  enough  to  let 
him  do  what  he  wants  to  do? 

Henry  Varley  said  to  Moody,  when  that  great  American 
was  in  England,  that  God  is  waiting  to  show  this  world  what 
one  man  could  do  for  him.  Moody  said:  "Varley,  by  the 
grace  of  God  I'll  be  that  man";  and  God  took  hold  of 
Moody  and  shook  the  world  with  him.  God  would  shake  the 
world  with  us  today  if  only  we  would  present  our  bodies  as 
a  living  sacrifice  to  him,  as  Moody  did.  Are  you  willing  to 
present  yom-self  ?  I  am  tired  of  a  church  of  five  hundred  or 
seven  hundred  members  without  power  enough  to  bring  one 
soul  to  Christ. 

At  the  opening  of  the  Civil  War  many  a  man  was  willing 
that  the  country  should  be  saved  by  able-bodied  male 
relatives  of  his  wife,  who  made  themselves  bullet-men,  but 
he  didn't  go  himself.  God  isn't  asking  for  other  men's 
bodies.  He's  asking  for  yours.  If  you  would  all  give  to 
God  what  rightfully  belongs  to  him,  I  tell  you  he  would 
create  a  commotion  on  earth  and  in  hell.  If  God  had  the 
feet  of  some  of  you  he  would  point  your  toes  in  different  ways 
from  those  you  have  been  going  for  many  years.  If  he  had 
your  feet  he  would  never  head  you  into  a  booze  joint.  If 
he  had  your  feet  he  would  never  send  you  into  a  ball-roomc 


334   "A  GOOD  SOLDIER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST" 

If  he  had  the  feet  of  some  of  you  he  would  make  you  weai 
out  shoe  leather  lugging  back  what  you've  taken  that 
doesn't  belong  to  you.  If  God  had  your  feet  he  would  take 
you  to  prayer-meeting.  I'm  afraid  the  preacher  would  have 
nervous  prostration,  for  he  hasn't  seen  some  of  you  there 
in  years.  If  God  had  your  feet  you'd  find  it  harder  to  follow 
the  devil.  Some  of  you  preachers  have  your  children  going 
to  dancing  school  and  I  hear  some  of  you  go  to  dances.  He 
would  make  your  daily  walk  conform  to  the  Golden  Rule  and 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

Some  people  work  only  with  their  mouths.  God  wants 
that  part  that's  on  the  ground.  Some  soldiers  sit  around 
and  smell  the  coffee  and  watch  the  bacon  frying. 

If  God  had  your  hands  he  would  make  you  let  go  a  lot 
of  things  you  hold  on  to  with  a  death-Uke  grip.  If  you  don't 
let  go  of  some  of  the  things  you  hold  so  tightly  they  will 
drag  you  down  to  hell.  He  would  have  you  let  go  some  of  the 
things  you  pay  taxes  on,  but  don't  own,  and  he  would  make 
you  let  go  of  money  to  pay  taxes  on  some  that  you  do  own. 
Some  people  are  so  busy  muck-raking  that  they  will  lose 
a  crown  of  glory  hereafter.  If  God  had  your  hands,  how 
many  coimtless  tears  you  would  wash  away.  A  friend  of 
mine  bought  a  typewriter,  and  when  he  tried  to  use  it  his 
fingers  seemed  to  be  all  sticks,  but  now  he  can  write  forty- 
five  words  a  minute.  Let  God  have  your  hands  and  he  will 
make  them  do  things  that  would  make  the  angels  wonder 
and  applaud. 

A  Glass  of  Champagne 

A  young  man  went  down  to  Thomasville,  Alabama,  and 
while  there  was  invited  to  a  dress  ball — or  rather  an  undress 
ball,  if  what  I  have  read  about  such  affairs  properly  describes 
the  uniforms.  A  young  lady — a  young  lady  with  eyes  like 
the  dove  and  with  beautiful  tresses — came  up  to  him  and 
said  to  the  young  man,  "Won't  you  pledge  a  glass  of  cham- 
pagne with  me?" 

The  young  man  thanked  her,  but  said:  **No,  I  don't 
drink." 


"A  GOOD  SOLDIER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST"    335 

''Not  with  me?"  she  said,  and  smiled;  and  he  repeated 
his  answer,  "No." 

Then  she  said:  "If  I  had  thought  you  would  refuse  me 
I  would  not  have  asked  you  and  exposed  myself  to  the 
embarrassment  of  a  refusal.  I  did  not  suppose  you  would 
think  me  bold  for  speaking  to  you  in  this  way,  and  I  thought 
you  might  be  lonely." 

A  Uttle  later  she  came  back  to  him  and  repeated  her 
invitation.    Again  he  said:  "No." 

Others  came  up  and  laughed.  He  took  it  and  hesitated. 
She  smiled  at  him  and  he  gave  in  and  drank  the  champagne, 
then  drank  another  glass  and  another,  until  he  was  flushed 
with  it.     Then  he  danced. 

At  two  o'clock  the  next  morning  a  man  with  a  linen 
duster  over  his  other  clothes  walked  back  upon  the  railroad- 
station  platform,  waiting  for  a  train  for  the  North ;  and  as  he 
walked  he  would  exclaim,  "Oh  God!"  and  would  pull  a 
pint  flask  from  his  pocket  and  drink.  "My  God,"  he  would 
say,  "what  will  mother  say?"  Four  months  later  in  his 
home  in  Vermont,  with  his  weeping  parents  by  him  and  with 
four  strong  men  to  hold  him  down,  he  died  of  delirium 
tremens. 

The  Epworth  League's  motto  is:  "Look  up,  lift  up." 
But  you'll  never  lift  much  up  unless  God  has  hold  of  your 
hands.  Unless  he  has,  you  will  never  put  your  hands  deep 
in  your  pocket,  up  to  the  elbows,  and  bring  them  up  full  of 
money  for  his  cause.  A  man  who  was  about  to  be  baptized 
took  out  his  watch  and  laid  it  aside;  then  he  took  out  his 
knife  and  bank-book  and  laid  them  aside. 

"Better  give  me  your  pocket-book  to  put  aside  for  you," 
said  the  minister. 

"No,"  said  the  man,  "I  want  it  to  be  baptized,  too." 

There's  no  such  thing  as  a  bargain-counter  religion. 
Pure  and  undefiled  religion  will  do  more  when  God  has 
something  besides  pennies  to  work  with.     God  doesn't  run 
any  excursions  to  heaven.     You  must  pay  the  full  fare.' 
Your  religion  is  worth  just  what  it  cost  you.     If  you  get 


33(5    "A  GOOD   SOLDIER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST" 

religion  and  then  lie  down  and  go  to  sleep,  your  joints  will 
get  stiff  as  Rip  Van  Winkle's  did,  and  you'll  never  win  the 
rehgious  marathon. 

Denying  One*s  Self 

A  man  said  to  his  wife  that  he  had  heard  the  preacher 
say  that  religion  is  worth  just  what  it  costs,  and  that  he  had 
determined  to  give  more  for  religion  and  to  deny  himself  as 
well.  "What  will  you  give  up?"  she  asked.  He  said  that 
he  would  give  up  coffee — for  he  dearly  loved  coffee — ^used  to 
drink  several  cups  at  every  meal,  the  very  best.  She  said 
that  she  would  give  up  something,  too — that  she  would  give 
up  tea.  Then  their  daughter  said  she  would  give  up  some 
of  her  little  pleasures,  and  the  father  tmned  to  his  son  Tom, 
who  was  shoveling  mashed  potatoes,  covered  with  chicken 
gravy,  into  his  mouth.  He  said,  "I'll  give  up  salt  mackerel. 
I  never  did  like  the  stuff,  anyway." 

There  are  too  many  salt-mackerel  people  like  that  in  the 
pews  of  our  churches  today.  They  will  take  something  that 
they  don't  like,  and  that  nobody  else  will  have,  and  give  it  to 
the  Lord.  That  isn't  enough  for  God.  He  wants  the  best 
we  have. 

God  wants  your  body  with  blood  in  it.  Cain's  altar 
was  bigger  than  Abel's,  but  it  had  nothing  valuable  on  it, 
while  Abel's  had  real  blood.  God  rejected  Cain's  and  ac- 
cepted Abel's.  God  turns  down  the  man  who  merely  Uves 
a  moral  life  and  does  not  accept  the  rehgion  of  Jesus  Christ. 
You  must  come  with  Jesus'  blood.  How  thankful  you  are 
depends  on  how  much  you  are  willing  to  sacrifice. 

I  don't  believe  that  the  most  honored  angel  in  heaven 
has  such  a  chance  as  we  have.  Angels  can't  suffer.  They 
can't  make  sacrifices.  They  can  claim  that  they  love  God, 
but  we  can  prove  it. 

What  would  you  think  of  a  soldier  if  when  he  was 
ordered  "Present  arms,"  he  would  answer,  "Tomorrow"; 
if  he  would  say,  "When  the  man  next  to  me  does";  if  he 
would  say,  "When  I  get  a  new  uniform"?    "Present" — that 


"A  GOOD  SOLDIER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST"    337 

means  now.  It  is  in  the  present  tense.  God  wants  us  to 
make  a  present  of  our  bodies  to  him — because  we  love  him. 

A  little  girl  showed  a  man  some  presents  she  had  received 
and  he  asked  her,  "How  long  may  you  keep  them?" 

"How  long?"  she  answered.  "Why,  they  were  given 
to  me.     They  are  mine!" 

Many  a  man  gives  his  boy  a  colt  or  a  calf,  then  when  it 
has  grown  to  a  horse  or  a  cow  he  sells  it  and  pockets  the 
money.  Some  of  you  fellows  need  to  do  a  little  thinking 
along  that  line.  When  we  give  our  bodies,  they  ought  to  be 
His  for  keeps. 

Thinking  for  God 

If  when  you  make  a  present  you  do  not  mean  to  give 
it  outright,  you  are  not  honest.  "Will  a  man  rob  God?" 
You  bet  he  will — a  heap  quicker  than  he  will  rob  any  one 
else. 

Your  body,  that  takes  the  head  as  well  as  hands.  God 
wants  brains  as  well  as  bones  and  muscles.  We  ought  to  do 
our  best  thinking  for  God.  Grod  is  in  the  greatest  business 
there  is,  and  he  wants  the  best  help  he  can  get.  Some  of  you 
old  deacons  and  elders  make  me  sick.  If  you  used  such 
methods  in  business  as  you  do  in  the  work  of  the  Church  the 
sheriff's  sale  flag  would  soon  be  hanging  outside  your  door. 
I  don't  ask  any  of  you  business  men  to  cmiail  any  of  your 
business  activities,  but  I  do  ask  that  you  give  more  of  your 
energy  to  the  things  of  rehgion.  You  want  to  use  good 
business  methods  in  religion.  The  RepubUcans  and  the 
Democrats  and  the  SociaUsts  use  good  business  methods 
in  pohtics.  The  farmer  who  hasn't  any  sense  is  still  plowing 
with  a  forked  stick.  The  farmer  who  has  sense  uses  a 
modem  plow.    Use  common  sense. 

Bishop  Taylor  promised  God  that  he  would  do  as  much 
hard  thinking  and  planning  for  him  as  he  would  do  for 
another  man  for  money.  He  did  it.  So  did  Wesley  and 
Whitefield  and  Savonarola,  and  look  what  they  did  for  God ! 
If  there  is  any  better  way  of  doing  God's  business  than  there 

92 


338   "A  GOOD  SOLDIER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST" 

was  one  hundred  years  ago,  for  God's  sake  do  it!  He's 
entitled  to  the  best  there  is.  This  thing  of  just  ringing  the 
church  bell  to  get  people  to  come  in  is  about  played  out.  In 
business,  if  they  have  a  machine  that  is  out  of  date  and 
doesn't  produce  good  results,  it  goes  onto  the  scrap  heap. 
If  a  man  can  produce  a  machine  that  can  enlarge  the  product 
or  better  it,  that  machine  is  adopted  at  once.  But  in  religion 
we  have  the  same  old  flint-lock  guns,  smooth-bore;  the  same 
old  dips  and  tallow  candles;  the  same  old  stage  coaches  over 
corduroy  roads;  and  if  a  protest  is  made  some  of  you  will 
roll  your  eyes  as  if  you  had  on  a  hair  shirt,  and  say :  "  Siu-ely 
this  is  not  the  Lord's  set  time  for  work."  I  tell  you  any  time 
is  God's  time.  Now  is  God's  time.  It  was  God's  time  to 
teach  us  about  electricity  long  before  Franklin  discovered  it, 
but  nobody  had  sense  enough  to  learn. 

It  was  God's  time  to  give  us  the  electric  light  long  before 
Edison  invented  it,  but  nobody  had  sense  enough  to  under- 
stand it.  It  was  God's  set  time  to  give  us  the  steam  engine 
long  before  Watts  watched  the  kettle  boil  and  saw  it  puff  the 
lid  off,  but  nobody  had  sense  enough  to  grasp  the  idea. 

If  God  Almighty  only  had  possession  of  your  mouths, 
he'd  stop  your  Ijnuig.  If  he  had  your  mouths  he'd  stop  your 
knocking.  If  he  had  your  mouths,  he'd  stop  your  misrep- 
resentations. If  he  had  your  mouths,  he'd  stop  your  swear- 
ing. If  he  had  your  mouths,  he'd  stop  your  back-biting. 
If  he  had  your  mouths,  he'd  stop  your  slanders.  There 
would  be  no  criticizing,  no  white  Ues,  no  black  lies,  no  social 
Ues,  no  talking  behind  backs. 

If  God  had  your  mouths,  so  much  money  wouldn't  go 
up  in  tobacco  smoke  or  out  in  tobacco  spit.  If  God  had  your 
mouths,  there  would  be  no  thousands  of  dollars  a  year  spent 
for  whisky,  beer  and  wine.  You  wouldn't  give  so  much  to 
the  devil  and  you  would  give  more  to  the  Church.  Many  of 
you  church  pillars  wouldn't  be  so  noisy  in  politics  and  so 
quiet  in  reUgion.  So  many  of  you  fellows  wouldn't  yell  like 
Comanche  Indians  at  a  ratification  meeting  and  sit  like  a 
bump  on  a  log  in  prayer-meeting. 


**A  GOOD  SOLDIER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST*'    339 

If  God  had  our  eyes  he'd  bring  the  millennium.  His 
eyes  nm  to  and  fro  through  the  world  seeking  for  men  to 
serve  him;  and  if  he  had  our  eyes,  how  our  eyes  would  run 
to  and  fro  looking  for  ways  to  help  bring  men  to  Christ.  How 
hard  it  would  be  for  sinners  to  get  away.  We  would  be  look- 
ing for  drimkards,  and  the  prostitutes  and  down-and-outs, 
to  lift  and  save  them.  How  many  sorrowful  hearts  we  would 
find  and  soothe,  how  many  griefs  we  would  alleviate!  Great 
God !  How  little  you  are  doing.  Don't  you  feel  ashamed? 
Aren't  you  looking  for  a  knot-hole  to  crawl  through?  If 
God  had  our  eyes  how  many  would  stop  looking  at  a  lot  of 
things  that  make  us  proud  and  unclean  and  selfish  and 
critical  and  unchristian 

What  God  Asks 

God  wants  you  to  give  your  body.  Are  you  afraid  to 
give  it  to  him?  Are  you  afraid  of  the  doctor  when  you  are 
sick?  Your  body — that  thing  that  sits  out  there  in  the  seat, 
that  thing  that  sits  up  there  in  the  choir  and  sings,  that 
thing  that  sits  there  and  writes  editorials,  that  body  which 
can  show  Jesus  Christ  to  fallen  sons  of  Adam  better  than  any 
angel — that's  what  God  wants.  God  wants  you  to  bring  it 
to  him  and  say:  "Take  it,  God,  it's  yours."  If  he  had  your 
body,  dissipation,  overeating  and  undersleeping  would  stop, 
for  the  body  is  holy  ground.    We  dare  not  abuse  it. 

A  friend  of  mine  paid  $10,000  for  a  horse.  He  put  him 
in  a  stable  and  there  the  animal  had  care-takers  attending 
him  day  and  night,  who  rubbed  him  down,  and  watched  his 
feet  to  take  care  that  they  should  not  be  injured,  and  put 
mosquito  netting  on  the  windows,  and  cooled  him  with 
electric  fans,  and  sprinkled  his  oats  and  his  hay.  They 
wanted  to  keep  him  in  shape,  for  he  was  worth  $10,000  and 
they  wanted  him  for  the  race-track.  Give  your  body  to  God, 
and  the  devil  will  be  welcome  to  anything  he  can  find. 

God  wants  your  body  as  a  living  sacrifice,  not  a  dead  one. 
There  are  too  many  dead  ones.  A  time  was  when  God  was 
satisfied  with  a  dead  sacrifice.    Under  old  Jewish  law  a  dead 


340   *' A  GOOD  SOLDIER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST 


sheep  would  do.  He  wants  my  body  now  when  I*m  alive 
and  not  when  I  am  dead  and  the  undertaker  is  waiting  to 
carry  it  out  to  the  cemetery.  The  day  of  that  dispensation 
is  past,  and  now  he  wants  you,  a  living  sacrifice,  a  real 
sacrifice.  A  traveling  man  who  wants  to  make  his  wife  a 
present,  and  sits  up  all  night  in  the  train  instead  of  taking  a 
berth  for  three  dollars  and  uses  the  three 
dollars  to  buy  a  present  for  his  wife, 
makes  a  real  sacrifice  for  her.  There 
never  was  a  victory  without  sacrifice. 
Socrates  advanced  the  doctrine  of  immor- 
tality and  died  with  a  cup  of  poisoned 
hemlock.  Jesus  Christ  paid  with  a  crown 
of  thorns.  Abraham  Lincoln  paid  with  a 
bullet  in  his  body.  If  you  mean  to  give 
yourself  as  a  sacrifice  to  God,  get  out  and 
work  for  him.  Ask  men  to  come  to  him. 
"A  holy  sacrifice."  Some  men  shy 
at  that  word  "holy"  like  a  horse  at  an 
automobile.  Holy  vessels  were  set  apart 
for  use  in  the  worship  of  God.  To  be  holy 
is  to  be  set  apart  for  God's  use — ^that's  all. 
To  be  holy  isn't  to  be  long-faced  and  never 
smile. 

"Acceptable  unto  the  Lord."  If 
that  were  true  then  this  old  desert  would 
blossom  like  Eden.  If  that  were  taken 
as  our  watchword,  what  a  stampede  of 
short  yardsticks,  shrunken  measures, 
light  weights,  adulterated  foods,  etc., 
there  would  be! 
What  a  stopping  of  the  hitting  up  of  booze!  There 
would  be  no  more  Hving  in  sin  and  keeping  somebody  on  the 
side,  no  more  of  you  old  deacons  coming  down  the  aisles 
stroking  your  whiskers  and  renting  yom*  buildings  for  houses 
of  ill  fame,  and  newspapers  would  stop  carrying  ads  for 
whisky  and  beer. 


'No  More  op  You 
Old  Deacons 
CoMiNo  Down 
THE  Aisles 
Stroking  Your 
Whiskers  " 


"A  GOOD  SOLDIER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST"    341 

Reasonable  Service 

*'Yoiir  reasonable  service."  God  never  asks  anything 
unreasonable.  He  is  never  exacting.  He  only  asks  rights 
when  he  asks  you  to  forsake  sin.  A  man  must  be  an  idiot 
if  he  does  not  see  that  man  is  unreasonable  when  unright- 
eous. God  never  made  a  law  to  govern  you  that  you  wouldn't 
have  made  if  you  had  known  as  much  as  God  knows.  You 
don't  know  that  much  and  never  can,  so  the  only  sensible 
thing  to  do  is  to  obey  God's  laws.  Faith  never  asks  expla- 
nation. 

God  asks  some  things  that  are  hard,  but  never  any  that 
are  imreasonable.  I  beseech  you,  brethren.  It  was  hard 
for  Abraham  to  take  his  son  up  on  the  moimtain  and  prepare 
to  offer  him  up  as  a  sacrifice  to  God,  but  God  had  a  reason. 
Abraham  imderstands  tonight,  and  Abraham  is  satisfied. 
It  was  hard  for  Joseph  to  be  torn  from  his  own  people  and 
to  be  sold  into  Egypt  and  to  be  hed  about  by  that  miserable 
woman,  torn  from  his  mother  and  father,  but  God  had  a 
reason.  Joseph  knows  tonight,  and  Joseph  is  satisfied.  It 
was  hard  for  Moses  to  lead  the  Jews  from  Egypt,  following 
the  cloud  by  day  and  the  pillar  of  fire  by  night  and  make 
that  crossing  of  the  Red  Sea,  only  to  have  God  call  him  up  to 
Moimt  Pisgah  and  show  him  the  Promised  Land  and  say: 
"Moses,  you  can't  go  in."  It  was  hard,  but  God  had  a 
reason.  Moses  imderstands  tonight,  and  Moses  is  satisfied. 
It  was  hard  for  Job  to  lose  his  children  and  all  that  he  pos- 
sessed and  to  be  aflflicted  with  boils,  and  to  be  so  miserable 
that  only  his  wife  remained  with  him.  But  God  had  a 
reason.    Job  understands  tonight,  and  Job  is  satisfied. 

It  was  a  hard  thing  God  asked  of  Saul  of  Tarsus — to  bear 
witness  to  him  at  Rome  and  Ephesus,  to  face  those  jeering 
heathen,  to  suffer  imprisonment  and  be  beaten  with  forty 
stripes  save  one,  and  finally  to  put  his  head  on  the  block  and 
have  it  severed  by  the  order  of  old  Nero,  but  God  had  a 
reason.  Paul  imderstands  tonight,  and  Paul  is  satisfied. 
It  was  a  hard  thing  God  asked  of  Jesus — ^to  leave  the  songs 
of  the  angels  and  the  presence  of  the  redeemed  and  glorified 


342   "A  GOOD  SOLDIER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST" 

and  come  down  to  earth  and  be  bom  amid  the  malodors  of  a 
stable,  and  be  forced  to  flee  from  post  to  post,  and  dispute 
with  the  learned  doctors  in  the  temple  at  twelve  years  of  age 
and  confute  them,  and  to  still  the  storm  and  the  troubled 
waters,  and  to  say  to  the  blind,  "Be  whole,"  and  finally 
to  be  betrayed  by  one  of  his  own  followers  and  to  be  murdered 
through  a  conspiracy  of  Jews  and  Gentiles;  but  now  he  sits 
on  the  throne  with  the  Father,  awaiting  the  time  to  judge 
the  world.     Jesus  understands  and  Jesus  is  satisfied. 

It  was  a  hard  thing  for  me  when  God  told  me  to  leave 
home  and  go  out  into  the  world  to  preach  the  gospel  and  be 
villified  and  hbeled  and  have  my  life  threatened  and  be 
denounced,  but  when  my  time  comes,  when  I  have  preached 
my  last  sermon,  and  I  can  go  home  to  God  and  the  Lamb, 
he'll  say,  "Bill,  this  was  the  reason."  I'll  know  what  it  all 
meant,  and  I'll  say  "I'm  satisfied,  God,  I'm  satisfied^" 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
A  Wonderful  Day  at  a  Great  University 

The  higher  you  climb  the  plainer  you  are  seen. — Billy  Sunday. 

BILLY  SUNDAY  has  had  many  great  days  in  his 
life — mountain-top  experiences  of  triumphant  service; 
exalted  occasions  when  it  would  seem  that  the 
cUmax  of  his  ministry  had  been  reached.  Doubtless, 
though,  the  greatest  day  of  his  crowded  life  was  the 
thirtieth  of  March,  1914,  which  he  spent  with  the  students 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  at  Philadelphia. 

The  interest  not  alone  of  a  great  university  but  also  of 
a  great  city  was  concentrated  upon  him  on  this  occasion. 
An  imposing  group  of  discriminating  folk  took  the  oppor- 
tunity to  judge  the  much  discussed  evangelist  and  his 
work.  In  this  respect,  the  day  may  be  said  to  have  proved 
a  turning  point  in  the  public  career  of  the  evangelist.  It 
silenced  much  of  the  widespread  criticism  which  had  been 
directed  toward  him  up  to  this  time;  and  it  won  for  him 
the  encomiums  of  a  host  of  intellectual  leaders. 

What  Sunday's  own  impressions  of  that  day  were  may 
be  understood  from  the  prayer  he  offered  at  the  close  of  the 
night  meeting. 

Oh,  Jesus,  isn't  this  a  fine  bunch?  Did  you  ever  look 
down  on  a  finer  crowd?  I  don't  believe  there  is  a  mother 
who  is  any  prouder  of  this  lot  of  boys  than  I  am  tonight. 
I  have  never  preached  to  a  more  appreciative  crowd,  and  if 
I  never  preach  another  sermon,  I  am  willing  to  go  home  to 
glory  tonight,  knowing  that  I  have  helped  save  the  boys  at 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  Help  them  to  put  aside 
temptations,  and  to  follow  in  the  paths  in  which  Doctor 
Smith  is  trying  to  guide  their  feet. 

Back  of  the  visit  of  the  evangelist  to  the  University 
lies  a  story,  and  a  great  principle.    The  latter  is  that  mate- 
Old) 


344  AT  A  GREAT  UNIVERSITY 

rialism  has  no  message  for  the  human  soul  or  character. 
The  authorities  of  the  University,  in  common  with  a  wide 
pubUc,  had  been  deeply  disturbed  over  the  suicide  of 
several  students  during  the  winter  of  1913-14.  Sensational 
stories,  largely  unwarranted,  in  the  daily  press  had  reported 
an  epidemic  of  suicides,  due  to  infidehty. 

Underneath  all  this  "yellow"  portrayal  of  conditions 
lay  the  truth,  reahzed  by  nobody  more  clearly  than  by 
the  University  head.  Provost  Edgar  Fahs  Smith,  that  the 
character  of  young  manhood  needs  to  be  fortified  by 
spiritual  ideals.  In  his  r61e  of  reUgious  leader  of  the  Uni- 
versity, and  counselor  to  the  young  men,  Provost  Smith 
had  heard  confessions  of  personal  problems  which  had 
wrung  his  soul.  None  knew  better  than  he  that  it  takes 
more  than  cultm-e  to  help  a  man  win  the  battle  of  life. 
Looking  in  every  direction  for  succor  in  this  deepest  of  all 
problems,  the  sight  of  Billy  Sunday  at  Scranton  indicated 
a  possible  ray  of  hope. 

Led  by  Thomas  S.  Evans,  the  secretary  of  the  Chris- 
tian Association  of  the  University,  a  deputation  of  student 
leaders  went  to  Scranton,  heard  the  evangehst,  and  con- 
veyed to  him  an  invitation  to  spend  a  day  with  the  Uni- 
versity. The  call  of  the  need  of  young  men  in  particular 
is  irresistible  to  Sunday,  and  he  gladly  accepted  the  invita- 
tion for  a  day  in  Philadelphia — agoing,  it  may  be  added 
parenthetically,  entirely  at  his  own  expense,  and  insisting 
that  the  offering  made  be  devoted  to  University  Christian 
Association  work. 

There  is  a  thorough  organization  of  the  Christian  work 
of  the  University;  so  careful  plans  were  laid  for  the  visit 
of  the  evangehst.  The  meetings  were  made  the  subject  of 
student  prayer  groups,  and  all  that  forethought  could  do 
to  secm-e  the  smooth  running  of  the  day's  services  was 
carefully  attended  to.  Students  were  to  be  admitted  by 
their  registration  cards,  and  a  few  hundred  other  guestS; 
mostly  ministers  and  persons  identified  with  the  University, 
were  given  special  admission  cards. 


AT  A  GREAT  UNIVERSITY  345 

There  is  no  such  rush  for  grand  opera  tickets  in  Phila- 
delphia as  was  experienced  for  these  coveted  cards  of 
admission  to  the  Billy  Sunday  meetings  at  the  University. 
The  noon  meeting  and  the  night  meetings  were  exclusively 
for  men,  but  in  the  afternoon  a  few  score  favored  women 
were  admitted.  The  result  was  that  in  these  three  services 
the  evangeUst  talked  to  representatives  of  the  best  Hfe  of 
the  conservative  old  city  of  Philadelphia.  He  never  before 
had  faced  so  much  concentrated  culture  as  was  represented 
that  day  within  the  walls  of  the  great  gymnasium. 

This  improvised  auditorium  could  be  made  to  hold 
about  three  thousand  persons,  especially  when  the  hearers 
were  students,  and  skilful  in  crowding  and  utilizing  every 
inch  of  space,  such  as  window  sills  and  rafters.  The  line 
of  ticket  holders  that  gathered  before  the  opening  of  the 
doors  itself  preached  a  sermon  to  the  whole  city.  As  one 
of  the  Philadelphia  newspapers  remarked,  in  the  title  it 
gave  to  a  section  of  its  whole  page  of  Billy  Sunday  pictures, 
"Wouldn't  think  they  were  striving  for  admittance  to  a 
religious  service,  would  you?"  The  newspapers,  by  pen 
and  camera,  chronicled  this  Billy  Simday  day  at  the  Uni- 
versity as  the  city's  most  important  news  for  that  issue. 

The  evangehst's  chorister,  Homer  Rodeheaver,  led 
the  introductory  service  of  music.  He  set  the  college 
boys  to  singing  and  whistling  famihar  gospel  hynrns,  and 
Mrs.  De  Armond's  "If  Your  Heart  Keeps  Right" — a 
refrain  which  was  heard  for  many  weeks  afterward  in  Uni- 
versity corridors  and  campus. 

From  the  fiiist  the  students,  than  whom  there  are  no 
more  critical  hearers  aUve,  were  won  by  Billy  Sunday. 
Provost  Smith,  who  has  the  men's  hearts,  introduced  him 
in  this  happy  fashion: 

"Billy  Sunday  is  a  friend  of  men.  He  is  a  friend  of 
yours  and  a  friend  of  mine,  and  that's  why  we  are  glad  to 
have  him  here  today  to  tell  us  about  his  other  friend,  Jesus 
Christ.  His  is  the  spirit  of  friendship,  and  we  are  glad  to 
extend  to  him  our  fellowship  while  we  have  the  opportunity." 


346  AT  A  GREAT  UNIVERSITY 

The  three  addresses  given  on  that  day  were  "What 
Shall  I  Do  with  Jesus?"  "Real  Manhood,"  and  "Hot-cakes 
off  the  Griddle." 

These  fragments  of  the  three  addresses  culled  from 
the  newspaper  reports  give  the  flavor  of  the  messages  heard 
by  the  students: 

"What  shall  I  do  with  Jesus?" 

"This  question  is  just  as  pertinent  to  the  world  today 
as  it  was  to  Pilate,"  he  said.  "Pilate  had  many  things  to 
encourage  and  discourage  him,  but  no  man  ever  sought 
to  do  anything  without  meeting  difficulties. 

"  Pilate  should  have  been  influenced  by  his  wife's  dream," 
the  speaker  continued,  whimsically  suggesting  that  he 
didn't  care  what  sort  of  wife  Pilate  had.  "She  may  have 
been  one  of  those  miserable,  pliable,  plastic,  two-faced,  two- 
by-four,  lick-spittle,  toot-my-own-horn  sort  of  women,  but 
Pilate  should  have  heeded  her  warning  and  set  Jesus  free," 
he  asserted. 

"Pilate  had  the  personality  of  Jesus  before  him  and 
should  have  been  influenced  by  this.  He  had  also  heard 
of  the  miracles  of  Jesus,  even  if  he  had  never  seen  them. 

"Why,  Jesus  was  cussed  and  discussed  from  one  end 
of  the  land  to  the  other.  All  he  had  to  do  was  to  say 
'Come  forth,'  and  the  graves  opened  like  chestnut  burrs 
in  the  fall,"  he  added. 

"I  have  no  use  for  the  fellow  that  sneers  and  mocks  at 
Jesus  Christ.  If  the  world  is  against  Christ,  I  am  against 
the  world,  with  every  tooth,  nail,  bit  of  skin,  hair  follicle, 
muscular  molecule,  articulation  joint" — ^here  the  evangelist 
paused  for  breath  before  adding — "yes,  and  even  my 
vermiform  appendix. 

"But  Pilate  was  just  one  of  those  rat-hole,  pin-headed, 
pliable,  standpat,  free-lunch,  pie-counter  politicians.  He 
was  the  direct  result  of  the  machine  gang  in  Jewish  politics, 
and  he  was  afraid  that  if  he  released  Christ  he  would  lose 
his  job. 

"Say,  boys,"  he  demanded,  leaning  so  far  over  the 


AT  A  GREAT  UNIVERSITY  347 

platform  it  seemed  he  must  have  fallen,  "are  you  fellows 
willing  to  slap  Jesus  Christ  in  the  face  in  order  to  have 
some  one  come  up  and  slap  you  on  the  back  and  say  you 
are  a  good  fellow  and  a  dead-game  sport?  That  is  the 
surest  way  to  lose  out  in  life.  I  am  giving  you  the  expe- 
rience of  a  life  that  knows. 

"Pilate  had  his  chance  and  he  missed  it.  His  name 
rings  down  through  the  ages  in  scorn  and  contempt  because 
he  had  not  the  courage  to  stand  up  for  his  convictions  and 
Jesus  Christ.  Aren't  you  boys  doing  the  same  thing?  You 
are  convinced  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  son  of  God,  but 
you  are  afraid  of  the  horse-laugh  the  boys  will  give  you. 

"God  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  you  unless  you 
are  willing  to  keep  clean,"  he  said.  "Some  people  think 
they  are  not  good  enough  to  go  to  heaven  and  not  bad 
enough  to  go  to  hell,  and  that  God  is  too  good  to  send  them 
to  hell,  so  they  fix  up  a  httle  religion  of  their  own.  God 
isn't  keeping  any  half-way  house  for  any  one.  The  man 
who  believes  in  that  ^dll  change  his  theology  before  he  has 
been  in  hell  five  minutes. 

"There's  just  one  enemy  that  keeps  every  one  from 
accepting  Christ,  and  that  is  your  stubborn,  miserable  will 
power.     You  are  not  men  enough  to  come  clean  for  Jesus. 

"I  don't  care  whether  you  have  brains  enough  to  fill 
a  hogshead  or  little  enough  to  fill  a  thimble,  you  are  up 
against  this  proposition :  You  must  begin  to  measiu-e  Christ 
by  the  rules  of  God  instead  of  the  rules  of  men.  Put  him 
in  the  God  class  instead  of  in  the  man  class;  judge  Christ 
by  his  task  and  the  work  he  performed,  and  see  if  he  was 
only  a  man." 

The  University  of  Pennsylvania  would  be  turning  out 
bigger  men  than  Jesus  Christ,  he  said,  if  Christ  were  not 
the  son  of  God.  The  conditions  and  the  opportunities  are 
so  much  greater  in  these  days,  he  showed,  that  a  real 
superman  should  be  the  product  of  our  day  if  education, 
society,  business,  politics  and  these  varied  interests  could 
produce  such  a  thing. 


348  AT  A  GREAT  UNIVERSITY 

"Jesus  Christ  is  just  as  well  known  today  as  old  Cleo- 
patra, the  flat-nosed  enchantress  of  the  Nile,  was  known 
himdreds  and  hundreds  of  years  ago. 

"Don't  swell  up  like  a  poisoned  pup  and  say  that 
*it  doesn't  meet  with  my  stupendous  intellectual  concep- 
tion of  what  God  intended  should  be  understood.'  God 
should  have  waited  until  you  were  bom  and  then  called 
you  into  counsel,  I  suppose.  Say,  fellows,  I  don't  like  to 
think  that  there  are  any  four-flushing,  excess-baggage, 
lackadaisical  fools  like  that  alive  today,  but  there  are 
a  few. 

"On  the  square,  now,  if  you  want  to  find  a  man  of 
reason,  would  you  go  down  in  the  red-light  district,  where 
women  are  selling  their  honor  for  money,  or  through  the 
beer  halls  or  fan-tan  joints?  You  don't  find  intellect  there," 
he  continued. 

In  contrast  to  these  places,  the  evangelist  described 
with  remarkable  accuracy  and  emotion  the  scenes  sur- 
rounding the  death  of  President  McKinley  and  the  burial 
ceremony  at  Canton,  Ohio;  how  the  great  men  of  the 
nation,  all  Christian  men,  passed  by  the  flag-covered  casket 
and  paid  their  silent  tribute  to  the  man  who  had  died  with 
Christian  confidence  expressed  in  his  last  words. 

"When  I  came  out  of  that  court-house  at  Canton,  I 
said:  'Thank  God,  I'm  in  good  company,  for  the  greatest 
men  of  my  nation  are  on  the  side  of  Jesus  Christ,'  "  he 
added.  From  the  farthest  corner  of  the  auditorium  there 
came  a  fervent  "Amen,"  which  found  many  repetitions  in 
the  brief  silence  that  followed. 

Mr.  Simday  reached  a  powerful  climax  when  he 
described  the  possibiUties  of  the  Judgment  Day,  and  the 
efforts  of  the  evil  one  to  lead  into  the  dark,  abysmal  depths 
souls  of  men  who  have  been  popular  in  the  world.  To 
those  who  have  accepted  Christ,  the  Saviour  will  appear 
on  that  day  as  an  advocate  at  the  heavenly  throne,  he 
argued,  and  the  saved  ones  can  turn  to  the  devil  and  say: 

"  *Beat  it,  you  old  skin-flint.   I  have  you  skinned  to  a 


BUiLT  Sunday  aho  his  Family  at  Homb,  Mount  Hood,  Winona 
Lakk,  Indiana. 


AT  A  GREAT  UNIVERSITY  349 

frazzle.  I  have  taken  Jesus  Christ  and  he's  going  to  stand 
by  me  through  all  eternity.' 

"Wherein  does  Jesus  Christ  fail  to  come  up  to  your 
standard  and  the  highest  conception  of  the  greatest  God- 
like spirit?  Show  me  one  flaw  in  his  character.  I  chal- 
lenge any  infidel  on  earth  to  make  good  his  claims  that 
Christ  was  an  ordinary  man.  The  name  of  Jesus  Christ, 
the  son  of  God,  is  greater  than  any.  It  is  the  name  that 
unhorsed  Saul  of  Tarsus,  and  it  is  holding  500,000,000  of 
people  by  its  majestic  spell  and  endimng  power. 

"If  you  can't  understand  what  this  means,  just  take 
a  walk  out  into  some  cemetery  some  day  and  look  at  the 
tomb-stones.  You'll  find  that  the  name  of  the  man  who 
had  a  poUtical  drag  twenty-five  years  ago  is  absolutely 
forgotten,"  continued  the  challenge. 

"Do  you  fellows  know  what  sacrifice  means?"  sud- 
denly asked  the  speaker.  "Some  of  your  fathers  are 
making  sacrifices  and  wearing  old  clothes  just  to  keep 
you  here  in  school.  He  wants  you  to  have  an  education 
because  he  can't  even  handle  the  multiphcation  table. 

"If  Jesus  Christ  should  enter  this  gymnasium  we 
would  all  fall  to  our  knees.  We  have  that  much  reverence 
in  oiu-  hearts  for  him.  I  would  run  down  and  meet  him, 
and  would  tell  him  how  much  I  love  him  and  that  I  am 
willing  to  go  wherever  he  would  have  me  go." 

In  closing,  the  evangehst  told  the  story  of  a  man  who 
recklessly  tossed  a  valuable  pearl  high  into  the  air,  reach- 
ing over  the  side  of  a  ship  to  catch  it  as  it  fell.  Time  and 
again  he  was  successful,  but  finally  the  ship  swerved  to  one 
side  and  the  gem  disappeared  beneath  the  waves. 

"Boys,  that  man  lost  everything  just  to  gain  the 
plaudits  of  the  crowd.     Are  you  doing  the  same  thing? 

"That  is  the  condition  of  thousands  of  people  beneath 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  today — closing  everything  just  to  hear 
the  clamor  of  the  people,  and  get  a  httle  pat  on  the  back 
for  doing  something  the  mob  likes." 

Mr.  Sunday  suddenly  abandoned  his  dramatic  attitude. 


350  AT  A  GREAT  UNIVERSITY 

and  lowered  his  voice.  There  was  an  instantaneous  bow- 
ing of  heads,  although  he  had  given  no  suggestion  of  a 
prayer.  It  seemed  proper  at  that  time,  and  one  of  the 
evangelist's  heart-to-heart  talks  with  Christ,  asking  a  bless- 
ing on  the  Christian  workers  of  the  University,  and  an 
earnest  effort,  on  the  part  of  every  student,  to  live  a 
Christian  life,  accompanied  the  great  audience  as  it  filed 
from  the  gymnasium. 

Real  Manhood 

"Be  thou  strong,  therefore,  and  show  thyself  a  man," 
the  Bible  verse  reads,  and  Mr.  Sunday  promptly  added: 
"Don't  be  a  mutt!  Don't  be  a  four-flusher — ^a  mere  cipher 
on  the  sea  of  human  enterprise. 

"God  is  a  respecter  of  character,  even  if  he  isn't  a 
respecter  of  persons,"  continued  the  speaker.  "Abraham 
towers  out,  like  a  mountain  above  a  molehill,  and  beside 
him  some  of  our  modem  gimlet-eyed,  heel-worn  fellows 
shrink  like  Edward  Hyde  in  Doctor  Jekyll's  clothes. 

"When  those  fellows  over  in  Babylon  offered  booze 
to  Daniel,  although  he  was  only  seventeen  years  old,  he 
said,  'Nothing  doing.'  He  told  them  where  to  head  in. 
Moses  pushed  aside  the  greatest  scepter  of  any  kingdom 
and  did  what  his  heart  told  him  was  right.  'Be  thou  strong 
and  show  thyself  a  man.' 

"David  was  a  man  of  lofty  purposes  and  his  life  was 
influenced  by  those  that  had  preceded  him.  It  wasn't 
an  accident  that  made  David  a  king.  The  big  job  is  always 
looking  for  big  men.  A  round  peg  will  not  fit  into  a  square 
hole,  even  if  he  is  a  university  professor. 

"The  yoimg  buck  who  inherits  a  big  fortune  without 
working  for  it,"  continued  Mr.  Sunday,  "is  going  down 
the  line  so  fast  you  can't  see  him  for  the  fog.  The  man 
who  has  real,  rich,  red  blood  in  his  veins,  instead  of  pink 
tea  and  ice  water,  when  the  hons  of  opposition  roar,  thinks 
it  is  only  a  call  for  dinner  in  the  dining  car,  and  he  goes 
ahead  and  does  thingSc 


AT  A  GREAT  UNIVERSITY  351 

"There  are  some  going  around  disguised  as  men  who 
ought  to  be  arrested,"  the  evangeHst  interposed.  "To 
know  some  men  is  an  invitation  to  do  right;  to  know 
others  is  an  invitation  to  know  dirty  booze  and  to  blot  the 
family  escutcheon,  insult  your  mothers  and  sisters.  The 
size  of  the  man  depends  on  his  mind,  not  on  his  muscle. 
There  is  lots  of  bulk  but  little  brains  in  some  men. 

"It's  a  sad  day  for  a  young  man  when  Bill  Taft's 
overcoat  wouldn't  make  him  a  vest,"  he  added,  amid  shouts 
of  laughter,  in  which  even  staid,  stern-faced  professors 
joined  with  the  students. 

"Too  many  fellows  look  like  men  from  across  the 
street,  but  when  you  get  close  to  them  they  shrivel  up. 

"It  makes  a  difference  what  kind  of  an  example  you 
follow.  If  Thomas  Edison  should  say  to  his  boy,  'Be  an 
inventor,'  the  boy  would  know  what  he  meant,  but  if  some 
red-nosed,  beer-soaked  old  reprobate  should  tell  his  boy 
to  'be  a  man,'  the  boy  would  be  all  in.  Lots  of  fellows 
today  tmn  out  bad  because  their  fathers'  talk  and  walk 
do  not  agree. 

"The  best  thing  that  can  happen  to  a  young  man," 
said  Mr.  Sunday,  '4s  to  come  under  the  influence  of  a  real 
man.  Every  one  has  a  hero,  whether  it  be  on  the  foot- 
ball field  or  in  the  classroom,  and  if  every  one  would  lead 
right  today,  there  would  be  no  going  astray  tomorrow. 

"There  are  some  men  in  this  world  that  when  they 
are  aroimd  you  turn  up  your  collar,  feel  chills  running  up 
and  down  your  back  and  when  you  look  at  the  thermom- 
eter, you  find  the  temperature  is  about  60  degrees  below 
zero." 

Then  followed  the  evangelist's  famous  story  of  how 
David  killed  Goliath,  consid©rably  tempered  to  suit  the 
culture  of  his  audience.  He  told  how  David  boldly  asked 
who  the  "big  lobster  was,"  and  why  he  was  "strutting 
around  as  if  he  was  the  whole  cheese,  the  head  guy  of  the 
opposition  party. 

"David  put  down  the  sword  that  Saul  had  given  him, 


352  AT  A  GREAT  UNIVERSITY 

for  he  felt  like  a  fellow  in  a  hand-me-down  suit  two  sizes 
too  large.  He  picked  up  one  of  his  Httle  pebbles,  slung 
it  across  the  river  and  hit  poor  old  GoUath  on  the  koko." 

''Some  fellows  are  working  so  hard  to  become  angels 
they  forget  to  be  men.  If  you  will  study  your  Bible  you 
will  find  that  the  men  of  old  were  subject  to  the  same  temp« 
tations  as  the  men  of  today,  but  they  didn't  let  their  temp- 
tations get  the  best  of  them. 

"If  yovu*  manhood  is  bmded  in  doubt  and  cheap  booze, 
dig  it  out.  You  have  to  sign  your  own  Declaration  of 
Independence  and  fight  your  own  Revolutionary  wars 
before  you  can  celebrate  the  Fourth  of  July  over  the  things 
that  try  to  keep  you  down. 

"The  best  time  for  a  man  to  sow  his  wild  oats  is 
between  the  age  of  eighty-five  and  ninety  years.  A  six- 
ply  drunk  is  about  as  good  a  passport  into  commercial 
life  as  a  record  for  housebreaking,  and  the  youth  who  goes 
to  the  mat  with  a  half-pint  of  red-eye  in  his  stomach,  will 
be  as  beneficial  to  humanity  as  a  one-legged  man  in  a 
hurdle  race." 

'If  I  knew,  when  the  undertaker  pumps  that  pink 
stuff  into  me  and  embalms  me,  that  the  end  of  all  had 
come,  I  would  still  be  glad  I  hved  a  Christian  life,  because 
it  meant  a  life  of  decency,"  he  said.  "I  would  rather  go 
through  the  world  without  knowing  the  multipUcation 
table  than  never  to  know  the  love  of  Christ.  I  don't  under- 
estimate the  value  of  an  education,  boys,  but  just  try  living 
on  oatmeal  porridge.  Get  your  education,  but  don't  lose 
sight  of  Jesus." 

"Once  you  have  made  your  plan,  cling  to  it.  Be  a 
man,  even  in  situations  of  great  danger.  The  man  whose 
diet  is  swill  will  be  at  home  with  the  hogs  in  any  pen.  He's 
boimd  to  have  bristles  sticking  through  his  skin.  If  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  had  read  about  AlkaH  Ike,  or  Three  Fingered 
Pete,  do  you  think  he  would  ever  have  been  President? 
While  other  yoimg  men  were  waking  up  with  booze-head- 
aches, he  was  pulling  up  his  old-fashioned  galluses  aud 
saying,  '  I'm  going  to  be  a  man.' 


AT  A  GREAT  UNIVERSITY  353 

"And  one  morning  the  world  awoke,  rubbed  its  sleepy 
eyes  and  looked  around  for  a  man  for  a  certain  place.  It 
found  Abraham  Lincoln  and  raised  him  from  obscurity  to 
the  highest  pinnacle  of  popular  favor.  He  was  a  man  and 
his  example  should  be  a  guiding  influence  in  the  life  of 
every  American  citizen." 

Booze,  evil  women,  Ucentious  practices,  cigarettes — 
all  these  came  under  the  ban  of  Mr.  Sunday's  system  of 
Christian  living.  He  spared  no  words;  he  called  a  spade 
a  spade  and  looked  at  modem  affairs  without  colored 
glasses. 

"You  can't  find  a  drunkard  who  ever  intended  to  be 
a  drunkard,"  argued  Mr.  Sunday.  "He  just  intended  to 
be  a  moderate  drinker.  He  was  up  against  a  hard  game, 
a  game  you  can't  beat." 

He  asserted  that  he  could  get  more  nourishment  from 
a  Uttle  bit  of  beef  extract,  placed  on  the  edge  of  a  knife 
blade,  than  can  be  obtained  from  800  gallons  of  the  best 
beer  brewed. 

Talking  about  riches,  he  suggested  that  King  Solomon, 
with  his  wealth,  could  have  hired  Andrew  Carnegie  as  a 
chauffeur  or  J.  Pierpont  Morgan  to  cut  the  lawns  around 
his  palace.  "Money  isn't  all  there  is  in  this  world,  but 
neither  is  beer,"  he  said.  "I  don't  want  to  see  you  stu- 
dents get  the  booze  habit,  just  because  we  are  Hcensing 
men  at  so  much  per  year  to  make  you  staggering,  reeling, 
drunken  sots,  murderers,  thieves  and  vagabonds." 

The  double  standard  of  living  was  bitterly  attacked 
by  the  revivaUst,  who  said  one  of  the  crying  needs  of 
America  was  the  recognition  of  a  single  standard  of  hving. 

"It  makes  no  difference  to  God  whether  the  sinner 
wears  a  plug  hat  and  pair  of  suspenders  or  a  petticoat  and 
a  willow  plume.  No  man  who  dehberately  drugs  a  girl 
and  sends  her  into  a  life  of  shame  ought  to  be  permitted 
in  good  society.  He  ought  to  be  shot  at  sunrise."  This 
sentiment  evoked  a  tremendous  round  of  applause,  and 
cries  of  "Amen!"  and  "Good,  Bill!"  were  not  infrequent. 


354  AT  A  GREAT  UNIVERSITY 

"The  avenging  God  is  on  his  trail  and  the  man  who 
wrecks  women's  Uves  is  going  to  crack  brimstone  on  the 
hottest  stone  in  hell,  praise  God,"  the  speaker  continued. 
"If  we  are  to  conciliate  this  unthinkable  and  unspeakable 
practice  of  vampires  feeding  on  women's  virtue,  we  might 
as  well  back-pedal  in  the  progress  of  the  nations.  The 
virtue  of  womanhood  is  the  rampart  of  om*  civilization  and 
we  must  not  let  it  be  betrayed." 

When  the  invitation  was  given  after  the  night  meet- 
ing, for  men  who  wanted  to  dedicate  themselves  to  cleaner, 
nobler  manhood  to  rise,  nearly  the  entire  body,  visibly 
moved  by  the  words  of  the  preacher,  rose  to  its  feet.  Then, 
with  a  daring  which  prim  and  conservative  Philadelphia 
had  not  thought  possible  in  this  citadel  of  intellectuality 
and  conventionahty,  Sunday  gave  the  invitation  to  the 
students  who  would  begin  a  new  life  by  confessing  Christ 
to  come  forward.  Accounts  vary  as  to  the  number  who 
went  up  and  grasped  the  evangelist's  hand.  All  reporters 
seemed  to  be  carried  away  by  the  thrill  of  the  occasion. 
Many  reported  that  hundreds  went  forward.  The  most 
conservative  report  was  that  175  young  men  took  this 
open  stand  of  confession  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  University  weekly,  Old  Penn,  in  its  issue  of  the 
following  Saturday  summarized  the  Billy  Sunday  visit  in 
pages  of  contributions.  These  three  paragraphs  are  the 
sober  judgment  of  those  best  informed  from  the  University 
standpoint : 

TJie  results  of  Mr.  Sunday's  visit  within  the  University 
have  been  nothing  short  of  marvelous.  The  Provost  has 
been  receiving  congratulations  from  trustees,  business  men, 
lawyers,  members  of  the  faculty  and  prominent  under- 
graduates. Several  whole  fraternities  have  taken  action 
leading  to  higher  hving  in  every  line.  Drink  has  been 
completely  excluded  from  class  banquets.  Students  are 
joining  the  churches,  and  religion  has  been  the  paramount 
topic  of  conversation  throughout  the  entire  University. 

Under  the    leadership  of    the    University   Christian 


AT  A  GREAT  UNIVERSITY  355 

Association,  the  church  leaders  of  Philadelphia  of  all  denomi- 
nations have  been  canvassing  their  own  students  in  the 
University  and  have  found  most  hearty  response  to  every- 
thing that  has  to  do  with  good  living.  The  effect  is  really 
that  of  a  religious  crusade,  and  the  result  is  of  that  permanent 
sort  which  expresses  itself  in  righteousness  of  Ufe.  At  the 
close  of  the  night  meeting  on  Monday,  about  1,000  students 
arose  to  their  feet  in  answer  to  Mr.  Sunday's  invitation  to 
live  the  Christian  life  in  earnest,  or  to  join  for  the  first  time 
the  Christian  way  of  life.  Those  who  have  called  upon  the 
students  who  took  this  stand  have  found  that  it  was  genuine, 
and  not  in  any  sense  due  to  a  mere  emotional  movement. 
Mr.  Sunday's  appeal  seems  to  be  almost  wholly  to  the  wiU 
and  conscience,  but  it  is  entirely  based  upon  the  movement 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 

No  one  who  has  ever  addressed  the  students  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  on  vital  religion  has  ever  ap- 
proached the  success  which  was  attained  by  Mr.  Simday  in 
reaching  the  students,  and  without  doubt  this  visit  is  only  the 
opening  up  of  a  marvelous  opportunity  for  Mr.  Sunday  to 
reach  the  students  of  the  entire  coimtry,  especially  those  of 
our  great  cosmopoUtan  universities. 

The  editor  of  Old  Penn  asked  opinions  from  members 
of  the  faculty  and  undergraduate  body.  Dean  Edward  C. 
Kirk,  M.D.,  D.D.S.,  of  the  Dental  Department,  said  in  his 
appraisal  of  the  Sunday  visit: 

If,  as  according  to  some  of  the  critics,  the  impression 
that  he  has  made  is  but  temporary  and  the  enthusiasm  which 
he  has  created  is  only  a  momentary  impulse,  even  so,  the 
success  of  his  accomplishment  Hes  in  the  fact  that  he  has 
produced  results  where  others  have  failed  to  make  a  begin- 
ning. The  University  ought  to  have  the  uplifting  force  not 
only  of  a  Billy  Sunday,  but  a  Billy  Monday,  Tuesday, 
Wednesday  and  every  other  day  in  the  week. 

Of  the  students  who  testified  in  print,  one,  a  prominent 
senior,  wrote: 


356  AT  A  GREAT  UNIVERSITY 

Mr.  Sunday  awoke  in  me  a  realization  of  my  evil 
practices  and  sins  so  forcefully  that  I  am  going  to  make  a 
determined  effort  to  give  them  up  and  to  make  amends 
for  the  past.  From  my  many  conversations  with  fellow- 
students  I  find  that  this  is  what  Mr.  Sunday  did.  If  he  did 
not  directly  cause  the  student  to  come  forward  and  take  a 
stand,  every  student  at  least  was  aroused  to  think  about  this 
all-important  question  in  a  light  that  he  had  not  seriously 
considered  it  in  before.  The  undergraduate  body,  as  a 
whole,  is  glad  that  Mr,  Sunday  came  to  Philadelphia, 

A  Christian  worker  fr^a  the  Law  School  gave  his 
opinion  as  follows: 

I  have  been  connected  with  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania for  six  years,  and  for  the  greater  part  of  this  time  have 
been  in  close  touch  with  the  work  of  the  Christian  Associa- 
tion. The  influence  of  the  Association  seems  to  be  increasing 
constantly,  but  Billy  Sunday  accompUshed  in  one  day  what 
the  Association  would  be  proud  to  have  accompUshed  in  one 
year.  To  my  mind,  Mr.  Sunday's  visit  marks  the  beginning 
of  a  new  epoch — ^the  Renaissance  of  rehgious  work  of  the 
University. 

That  is  the  sort  of  thing  that  occupied  pages  of  the 
official  pubUcation  of  the  University,  following  the  evan- 
gelist's visit.  This  day's  work  attracted  the  attention  not 
only  of  Philadelphia  newspapers,  but  the  rehgious  press 
throughout  the  coimtry  quite  generally  commented  upon  it. 
Dr.  Mosley  H.  WilUams  graphically  reviewed  it  in  the 
Congregationalist. 

The  University  of  Pennsylvania,  founded  by  Benjamin 
Franklin  in  1749,  is  the  fourth  in  age  of  American  universi- 
ties, antedated  only  by  Harvard,  Yale,  and  Princeton  by  one 
year.  It  is  located  in  a  city  of  a  miUion  and  three-quarters 
people.  It  now  enrolls  6,632  students,  representing  every 
state  in  the  Union,  and  fifty-nine  foreign  countries.  There 
are  250  from  Europe  and  Asia,  and  150  from  Latin  America; 
so  that  in  the  cosmopolitanism  of  its  make-up,  probably  no 


AT  A  GREAT  UNIVERSITY  ^57 

American  university  equals  it.  Its  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  employs  twenty-seven  secretaries,  its  Bible 
classes  on  week  days  gather  650  students,  and  every  Frater- 
nity House  has  its  own  Bible  Class.  But  attendance  upon 
daily  prayers  is  not  obUgatory,  and  less  than  a  hundred,  on 
an  average,  are  seen  at  those  services. 

Into  this  cosmopoHtan  University  Billy  Sunday  came 
like  a  cyclone.  After  preaching  in  Scranton  three  times  on 
the  Sabbath,  to  audiences  aggregating  30,000  people,  he 
traveled  all  night,  reached  Philadelphia  Monday  morning, 
took  an  automobile  spin  to  the  baseball  park,  where  he  was 
a  famous  player  twenty  years  ago,  and  preached  three  times 
in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  gymnasium,  which  wa&' 
seated  with  chairs,  and  accommodated  3,000  hearers. 

There  were  three  services — noon,  afternoon  and  even- 
ing. Tickets  were  issued,  red,  white  and  blue,  each  good 
for  one  service,  and  that  one  exclusively.  Not  a  person  was 
admitted  without  a  ticket.  The  long  lines  reached  squares 
away,  and  the  poUce  kept  the  people  moving  in  order. 

What  does  such  a  spectacle  mean  in  a  great  old  uni- 
versity, in  a  great  city?  Such  a  student  body  knows  slang, 
and  athleticism,  and  all  sorts  of  side  plays.  No  doubt  there 
was  plenty  of  criticism  and  questioning;  but  a  spectator  who 
had  his  eyes  and  ears  and  mind  open,  would  say,  that  in 
getting  a  response  to  the  reUgious  appeal,  Billy  Sunday's 
Monday  in  the  University  of  Pennyslvania  scored  high. 

This  effort  for  quickening  rehgious  interests  in  the 
University  was  not  a  spasmodic  effort  for  one  day;  there  had 
been  the  most  careful  preparations  beforehand,  in  consulta- 
tion with  leading  ministers  of  all  denominations  in  the  city, 
to  seek  out  students  of  every  denomination.  Lists  were 
carefully  made  and  cards  put  in  the  hands  of  ministers  and 
Christian  workers,  with  the  understanding  that  all  the  young 
men  of  the  University  should  be  visited  in  a  friendly  and 
Christian  spirit  by  representatives  of  various  chiurches.  The 
results,  of  course,  remain  to  be  seen,  but  after  this  effort,  no 
student  need  say,  "No  man  cares  for  my  soul." 

The  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter,  of  course,  is  that 
the  old-time  rehgion,  the  gospel  of  our  fathers  and  our 


358  AT  A  GREAT  UNIVERSITY 

mothers,  is  still  the  deepest  need  of  all  sorts  and  conditions 
of  men.  The  religion  that  saved  the  outcast  in  the  gutter 
is  adequate  to  redeem  the  man  in  the  imiversity. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 
The  Christian's  Daily  Helper 

Too  much  of  the  work  of  the  Church  today  is  like  a  squirrel  in  a  cage — 
lots  of  activity,  but  no  progress. — Billt  Sunday. 

IN  the  course  of  one  of  his  campaigns,  Sunday  sweeps 
the  arc  of  the  great  Christian  doctrines.  While  he 
stresses  ever  and  again  the  practical  duties  of  the 
Christian  life,  yet  he  makes  clear  that  the  rehance  of  the 
Christian  for  all  that  he  hopes  to  attain  in  character  and  in 
service  is  upon  the  promised  Helper  sent  by  our  Lord,  the 
ever-present  Holy  Spirit.  One  of  the  evangelist's  greatest 
sermons  is  upon  this  theme,  and  no  transcript  of  his  essential 
message  would  be  complete  without  it. 

"THE  HOLY  SPIRIT" 

The  personahty,  the  divinity  and  the  attributes  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  afford  one  of  the  most  inspiring,  one  of  the  most 
beneficial  examples  in  our  spiritual  life.  We  are  told  that 
when  the  Holy  Spirit  came  at  Pentecost,  he  came  as  the 
lushing  of  a  mighty  wind  and  overurging  expectancy. 
When  Jesus  was  baptized  in  the  River  Jordan,  of  John,  out 
from  the  expanse  of  heaven  was  seen  to  float  the  Spirit  of 
God  like  a  snowflake,  and  they  heard  a  sound  as  of  whirring 
wings,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  form  of  a  dove  hovered 
over  the  dripping  locks  of  Christ.  Neither  your  eyes  nor 
mine  will  ever  behold  such  a  scene;  neither  will  our  ears 
ever  hear  such  a  soimd  again.  You  cannot  dissect  or 
weigh  the  Holy  Spirit,  nor  analyze  him  as  a  chemist  may 
analyze  material  matter  in  his  laboratory,  but  we  can  all 
feel  the  pulsing  of  the  breath  of  his  eternal  love. 

The  Holy  Spirit  is  a  personahty;  as  much  a  personahty 
as  Christ,  or  you  or  I.  "Howbeit,  when  he,  the  Spirit  of 
truth,  is  come^ he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth:  for  he  shall 

(359) 


360        THE  CHRISTIAN'S  DAILY  HELPER 

not  speak  of  himself."  He  is  to  us  what  Jesus  was  when  he 
was  on  earth.  Jesus  always  speaks  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  future  tense.  He  said,  "It  is  expedient  that  I  go 
away;  if  I  go  not  away  the  Spirit  will  not  come.  It  is 
expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away,  but  when  I  am  gone,  then 
I  will  send  Him  unto  you  who  is  from  the  Father."  So  we  are 
Uving  today  in  the  beneficence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

No  Universal  Salvation 

I  do  not  believe  in  this  twentieth-century  theory  of 
the  universal  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of 
man.  We  are  all  made  of  one  blood — that  is  true,  physically 
speaking;  we  are  all  related.  I  am  talking  about  the  spir- 
itual, not  the  physical.  You  are  not  a  child  of  God  unless 
you  are  a  Christian;  then  you  are  a  child  of  God — if  you 
are  a  Christian. 

Samson  with  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  him  could  take  the 
jawbone  of  an  ass  and  lay  dead  a  thousand  Philistines. 
Samson  without  the  Holy  Spirit  was  as  weak  as  a  newborn 
babe,  and  they  poked  his  eyes  out  and  cut  off  his  locks. 
And  so  with  the  Church  and  her  members.  Without 
the  Holy  Spirit  you  are  as  sounding  brass  and  tinkling 
cymbals,  simply  four  walls  and  a  roof,  and  a  pipe  organ  and 
a  preacher  to  do  a  little  stunt  on  Sunday  morning  and  even- 
ing. I  tell  you.  Christian  people,  that  with  the  Holy  Spirit 
there  is  no  power  on  earth  or  in  hell  that  can  stand  before 
the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  the  damnable,  hell-bom, 
whisky-soaked,  hog-jowled,  rum-soaked  moral  assassins 
have  damned  this  conmnmity  long  enough.  Now  it  is  time 
it  was  broken  up  and  it  is  time  to  do  something. 

There  are  three  classes  in  the  Church,  as  I  have  looked 
at  it  from  my  standpoint.  The  first  are  those  in  the  Church 
personally  who  want  to  be  saved,  but  they  are  not  concerned 
about  other  people.  They  do  not  give  any  help  to  other 
people;  they  don't  lie  awake  at  night  praying  for  other 
people  that  they  may  be  brought  to  the  Lord. 

The  second  class  are  going  to  depend  upon  human 


THE  CHRISTIAN'S  DAILY  HELPER        361 

wisdom.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  latent  power,  e3q)ressed 
or  implied — ^power  is  just  as  distinctive  in  an  individual  as 
the  electricity  in  these  hghts.  If  these  globes  are  without 
a  current  they  would  be  nothing  but  glass  bulbs,  fit  for 
nothing  but  the  scrap  heap.  Without  the  Holy  Spirit  you 
are  as  sounding  brass  and  tinkling  cymbals,  and  a  third-rate 
amusement  parlor,  with  rehgion  left  out. 

The  third  class  are  chiu-ch  members  not  from  might 
and  honor  and  power,  but  from  the  Spirit. 

While  at  Pentecost  one  sermon  saved  3,000  people,  now 
it  takes  3,000  sermons  to  get  one  old  buttermilk-eyed, 
whisky-soaked  blasphemer. 

Happiest  Nation  on  Earth 

We  have  our  churches,  our  joss  houses,  our  tabernacles; 
we  have  got  the  wisdom  of  the  orientals,  the  ginger,  vim, 
tabasco  sauce,  peppering  of  the  twentieth  century;  we  have 
got  all  of  that,  and  I  do  not  believe  that  there  are  any  people 
beneath  the  sun  who  are  better  fed,  better  paid,  better 
clothed,  better  housed,  or  any  happier  than  we  are  beneath 
the  stars  and  stripes — ^no  nation  on  earth.  There  are  lots  of 
things  that  could  be  eliminated  to  make  us  better  than  we 
are  today.    We  are  the  happiest  people  in  God's  world. 

Out  in  Iowa,  a  fellow  said  to  me:  "Mr.  Sunday,  we 
ought  to  be  better  organized."  Just  think  of  that,  we 
ought  to  be  better  organized.  Now  listen  to  me,  my  friends! 
Listen  to  me !  There  is  so  much  machinery  in  the  churches 
today  that  you  can  hear  it  squeak. 

Drop  into  a  young  people's  meeting.  The  leader  will 
say  in  a  weak,  effeminate,  apologetic,  minor  sort  of  way,  that 
there  was  a  splendid  topic  this  evening  but  he  had  not  had 
much  time  for  preparation.  It  is  superfluous  for  him  to  say 
that;  you  could  have  told  that.  He  goes  along  and  tells 
how  happy  he  is  to  have  you  there  to  take  part  this  evening, 
making  this  meeting  interesting.  Some  one  gets  up  and 
reads  a  poem  from  the  Christian  Endeavor  World  and  then 
they  sing  No.  38.    They  get  up  and  sing : 


362        THE  CHRISTIAN'S  DAILY  HELPER 

"Oh,  to  be  nothing — nothing, 
Only  to  lie  at  His  feet." 

We  used  to  sing  that  song,  but  I  found  out  that  people 
took  it  so  literally  that  I  cut  it  out. 

Then  a  long  pause,  and  some  one  says,  "Let  us  sing 
No.  52."    So  they  get  up  and  then  some  one  starts, 

"Throw  out  the  life  line, 
Throw  out  the  life  line." 

They  haven't  got  strength  enough  to  put  up  a  clothes- 
line. Another  long  pause,  and  then  you  hear,  "Have  all 
taken  part  that  feel  free  to  do  so?  We  have  a  few  minutes 
left.  So  let  us  sing  No.  23."  Then  another  long  pause. 
"I  hear  the  organ  prelude;  it  is  time  for  us  to  close,  now  let 
us  all  repeat  together,  '  The  Lord  keep  watch  between  me 
and  thee,  while  we  are  absent  one  from  another.'  " 

I  tell  you  God  has  got  a  hard  job  on  his  hands.  Ever 
hear  anything  like  that? 

Ambassadors  of  God 

Believe  that  God  Almighty  can  do  something.  Don't 
whine  around  as  though  God  were  a  corpse,  ready  for  the 
undertaker.  God  is  still  on  the  job.  The  Holy  Spirit  is 
needed  to  bring  man  into  spiritual  touch  with  God;  to  make 
man  reahze  that  he  is  a  joint  representative  of  God  on  earth 
today.  Do  you  ever  reaUze  that  you  are  God's  representa- 
tive— God's  ambassador? 

And  as  we  are  God's  ambassadors  why  should  we  fear 
what  the  devil  may  do?  Can  it  be  that  you  fail  to  reahze 
his  power?  Or  are  you  so  blind  to  the  spiritual  that  you  can't 
see  that  you  need  God's  help?  Let  me  ask  you  one  question : 
Are  you  ready  to  siu-render  to  him?  A  man  said  to  me :  "It 
was  a  mighty  httle  thing  to  drive  Adam  and  Eve  out  of  the 
Garden  of  Eden  because  they  ate  an  apple."  It  wasn't  the 
fruit.  It  was  the  principle,  whether  man  should  bow  to 
God  or  God  bow  to  man.    That  act  was  an  act  of  disobedi- 


THE  CHRISTIAN'S  DAILY  HELPER        363 

ence.  You  may  say  it  was  a  mighty  little  thing  for  England 
to  go  to  war  with  us  because  we  threw  some  tea  into  Boston 
harbor.  We  didn't  go  to  war  over  the  tea.  We  said :  "  You 
can't  brew  tea  in  the  East  India  Company  and  pour  it  down 
our  throats."  It  was  the  principle  we  went  to  war  about, 
not  the  price  of  tea,  and  we  fought  it  out.  Are  you  ready  to 
surrender?  You,  who  are  in  rebelHon  against  God?  You, 
who  are  in  rebelhon  against  the  authority  of  God's  govern- 
ment?   Are  you  ready  to  do  his  will? 

A  good  many  people  suppose  that  when  they  have 
accepted  Jesus  Christ  as  their  Saviour  and  joined  the  Church 
that  is  all  there  is  to  the  Christian  life.  As  well  might  a 
student  who  has  just  matriculated  imagine  that  he  has  fin- 
ished his  education.  Nobody  has  reached  a  stage  in  the 
Christian  life  from  which  he  cannot  go  fm-ther  unless  he  is 
in  the  coffin — and  then  it's  all  over.  To  accept  Christ,  to 
join  the  Chiu'ch,  is  only  to  begin.  It  is  the  starting  of  the 
race,  not  the  reaching  of  the  goal.  There  are  constant  and 
increasing  blessings  if  you  are  willing  to  pay  the  price. 

I  don't  care  when  or  where  you  became  a  chiu-ch  mem- 
ber, if  the  Comforter,  who  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  not  with 
you,  you  are  a  failure. 

This  power  of  the  Spirit  is  meant  for  all  who  are 
Christians.  It  is  a  great  blessing  for  the  Presbyterian  elder 
as  well  as  for  the  preacher.  I  know  some  Methodist  stewards 
who  need  it.  Deacons  would  ''deak"  better  if  they  had 
it.  It  is  a  great  blessing  for  the  deacon  and  the  members  of 
the  prudential  committee,  and  it  is  just  as  great  a  blessing 
for  the  man  in  the  pew  who  holds  no  office.  To  hear  some 
people  talk  you  would  think  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  only  for 
preachers.  God  sets  no  double  standard  for  the  Chris- 
tian life.  There's  nothing'  in  the  Bible  to  show  that  the 
people  may  live  differently  from  the  man  m  the  pulpit. 

Holy  Spirit  a  Person 

I  once  heard  a  doctor  of  divinity  pray  for  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  he  said :  "Send  it  upon  us  now."    He  was  wrong, 


3tJ4        THE  CHRISTIAN'S  DAILY  HELPER 

doubly  wrong.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  not  an  impersonal  thing. 
He  is  a  person,  not  an  "it."  And  the  Holy  Spirit  has  always 
been  here  since  the  days  of  Pentecost.  He  does  not  come 
and  go.  He  is  right  here  in  the  world  and  his  power  is 
at  the  conmiand  of  all  who  will  put  themselves  into  position 
to  use  it. 

A  university  professor  was  greeted  by  a  friend  of  mine 
who  took  him  by  the  hand,  and  said:  "What  do  you  think 
of  the  Holy  Spirit?"  The  professor  answered  that  he  re- 
garded the  Holy  Spirit  as  an  influence  for  good,  a  sort  of 
emanation  from  God.  My  friend  talked  to  him  and  tried 
to  show  him  his  mistake,  and  a  few  months  later  he  met 
him  again.  "What  do  you  think  of  the  Holy  Spirit  now?" 
he  asked.  The  professor  answered:  "Well,  I  know  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  a  person.  Since  I  talked  with  you  and  have 
come  to  that  conviction,  I  have  succeeded  in  bringing 
sixty-three  students  to  Christ." 

A  great  many  people  think  the  Holy  Spirit  comes  and 
goes  again,  and  quote  from  the  Acts,  where  it  says  that  Peter 
was  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit.  Well,  if  you  will  find  that 
Peter  had  been  doing  things  right  along,  that  showed  he  had 
been  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit  all  the  time.  Acts,  second 
chapter  and  fomi;h  verse,  we  read:  "And  they  were  all  filled 
with  the  Holy  Spirit."  You  have  no  right,  nor  have  I,  to 
say  that  the  Holy  Spirit  ever  left  any  one.  We  have  no 
right  to  seek  to  find  Scripture  to  bolster  up  some  httle  theory 
of  our  own.  We  must  take  the  Word  of  God  for  it,  just  as 
we  find  it  written  there.  Now,  at  Pentecost,  Peter  had 
said:  "Repent,  and  be  baptized  for  the  remission  of  sins." 
Then  he  promised  them  that  the  Holy  Spirit  would  come 
and  fill  them.    Now  we  have  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise. 

Who  were  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit?  Peter  and  James 
and  John?  No — the  people.  That  is  the  record  of  the  filling 
with  the  Holy  Spirit  of  the  three  thousand  who  were  converted 
at  Pentecost,  not  the  filling  of  Peter  and  James  and  John. 

If  the  Spirit  remains  forever,  why  doesn't  his  power 
always  show  itseil  ?  Why  haven't  you  as  much  power  with 


THE  CHRISTIAN'S  DAILY  HELPER         365 

God  as  the  one  hundred  and  twenty  had  at  Pentecost? 
There  are  too  many  frauds,  too  much  trash  in  the  Church. 
It  is  because  the  people  are  not  true  to  God.  They  are 
disobeying  him.    They  are  not  right  with  him  yet. 

I  don't  know  just  how  the  Holy  Spirit  will  come,  but 
Jesus  said  wc  should  do  even  greater  works  than  he  did. 
What  are  you  doing?    You  are  not  doing  such  works  now. 

The  Last  Dispensation 

We  find  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Old  Testament.  When 
the  prophets  spoke  they  were  moved  by  him.  God  seems 
to  have  spoken  to  man  in  three  distinct  dispensations.  Once 
it  was  through  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  then  it  was 
through  Moses  and  imder  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  and 
finally  it  is  through  his  own  son,  Jesus  Christ.  Jesus  Christ 
came  into  the  world,  proved  that  he  is  the  Son  of  God, 
suffered,  died  and  was  buried,  rose  again,  and  sent  his  Holy 
Comforter.  This  is  the  last  dispensation.  There  is  no 
evidence  that  after  the  Holy  Spirit  once  came,  he  ever  left 
the  world.  He  is  here  now,  ready  to  help  you  to  overcome 
yom*  pride,  and  your  diffidence  that  has  kept  you  from  doing 
personal  work,  and  is  willing  and  ready  to  lead  you  into  a 
closer  relationship  with  Jesus. 

But  you  say,  some  are  elected  and  some  are  not.  On 
that  point  I  agree  with  Henry  Ward  Beecher.  He  said: 
"The  elect  are  those  who  will  and  the  non-elect  are  those 
who  won't." 

But  you  go  in  for  culture — "culchah."  If  you  are  too 
cultured  to  be  a  Christian,  God  pity  you.  You  may  call  it 
culture.  I  have  another  name  for  it.  Is  there  anything 
about  Christianity  that  is  necessarily  uncultured?  I  think 
the  best  culture  in  the  world  is  among  the  followers  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

But  you  say:  "Ignorance  is  a  bar  to  some."  No  sir. 
Billy  Bray,  the  Cornish  miner,  was  an  ilhterate  man.  He 
was  asked  if  he  could  read  writing,  and  he  answered:  "No, 
I  can't  even  read  readin '.  "    Yet  Billy  Bray  did  a  wonderful 


366        THE  CHRISTIAN'S  DAILY  HELPER 

work  for  God  in  Wales  and  England.    Ignorance  is  no  bai 
to  religion,  or  to  usefulness  for  Jesus. 

Some  time  ago,  over  in  England,  a  man  died  in  the  poor 
house.  He  had  had  a  Uttle  property,  just  a  few  acres  of 
land,  and  it  hadn't  been  enough  to  support  him.  After  he 
died  the  new  owner  dug  a  well  on  it,  and  at  a  depth  of  sixty- 
five  feet  he  found  a  vein  of  copper  so  rich  that  it  meant  a 
little  fortime.  If  the  man  who  died  had  only  known  of  that 
vein,  he  need  not  have  lived  in  poverty.  There  are  many 
who  are  just  as  ignorant  of  the  great  riches  within  their  reach. 
Lots  of  people  hold  checks  on  the  bank  of  heaven,  and  haven't 
faith  enough  to  present  them  at  the  window  to  have  them 
cashed. 

"  Little  Things  " 

You  may  say,  "I  have  failed  in  something,  but  it  is  a 
little  thing."  Oh,  these  little  things !  Bugs  are  httle  things, 
but  they  cost  this  country  $800,000,000  in  one  year.  Birds 
are  httle  enemies  of  the  bugs,  and  birds  are  httle  things,  and 
if  it  weren't  for  the  birds  we  would  starve  in  two  years. 
If  there's  anything  that  makes  me  mad  it  is  to  see  a  farmer 
grab  a  shotgun  and  kill  a  chicken  hawk.  That  hawk  is 
worth  a  lot  more  than  some  old  hen  you  couldn't  cook  tender 
if  you  boiled  it  for  two  days.  That  chicken  hawk  has  killed 
all  the  gophers,  mice  and  snakes  it  could  get  its  claws  on  and 
it  has  come  to  demand  from  the  farmer  the  toll  that  is  right- 
fully due  to  it,  for  what  it  has  done  to  rid  the  land  of  pests. 

Why  is  it  that  with  all  our  universities  and  colleges  we 
haven't  produced  a  book  like  the  Bible?  It  was  written  long 
ago  by  people  who  lived  in  a  httle  country  no  bigger  than  some 
of  our  states.  The  reason  was  that  God  was  behind  the 
writers.      The  book  was  inspired. 

When  good  old  Dr.  Backus,  of  Hamilton  College,  lay 
dying  the  doctor  whispered  to  Mrs.  Backus,  saying,  "Dr. 
Backus  is  dying."  The  old  man  heard  and  looked  up  with 
a  smile  on  his  face  and  asked:  "Did  I  understand  you  to 
say  that  I  am  dying?  " 


THE  CHRISTIAN'S  DAILY  HELPER        367 

Sadly  the  doctor  said:  "Yes,  I'm  sorry,  you  have  no 
more  than  half  an  hour  to  live." 

Dr.  Backus  smiled  again.  "Then  it  will  soon  be  over," 
he  said.  "  Take  me  out  of  bed  and  put  me  on  my  knees.  I 
want  to  die  praying  for  the  students  of  Hamilton  College." 
They  lifted  him  out  and  he  knelt  down  and  covered  his  face 
with  his  transparent  hands,  and  prayed  "Oh,  God,  save  the 
students  of  Hamilton  College." 

For  a  time  he  continued  to  pray,  then  the  doctor  said, 
"  He  is  getting  weaker."  They  lifted  him  back  upon  the  bed, 
and  his  face  was  whiter  than  the  pillows.     Still  his  hps 

moved.    "  Oh,  God,  save "    Then  the  Ught  of  life  went 

out,  and  he  finished  the  prayer  in  the  presence  of  Jesus. 
What  did  his  dying  prayer  do?  Why,  almost  the  entire 
student  body  of  Hamilton  College  accepted  Jesus  Christ. 

If  you  haven't  the  power  of  the  Spirit  you  have  done 
something  wrong.  I  don't  know  what  it  is — ^it's  none  of  my 
business.  It's  between  you  and  God.  It  is  only  my  duty 
to  call  upon  you  to  confess  and  get  right  with  him. 

A  man  went  to  a  friend  of  mine  and  said:  "I  don't 
know  what  is  wrong  with  me.  I  teach  a  Sunday-school 
class  of  young  men,  and  I  have  tried  to  biing  them  to  Jesus, 
and  I  have  failed.     Can  you  tell  me  why?" 

"Yes,"  was  the  answer.  "There's  something  wrong 
with  you.     You've  done  something  wrong." 

The  man  hesitated,  but  finally  he  said,  "You're  right. 
Years  ago  I  was  cashier  in  a  big  business  house,  and  one  time 
the  books  balanced  and  there  was  some  money  left  over. 
I  took  that  money  and  I  have  kept  it.  That  was  twelve 
years  ago.     Here  is  the  money  in  this  envelope." 

"Take  it  back  to  the  owner,"  said  my  friend.  "It's 
not  yoiu's,  and  it's  not  mine." 

"But  I  can't  do  that,"  said  the  man.  "I  am  making 
a  salary  of  $22,000  a  year  now,  and  I  have  a  wife  and  daugh- 
ters, and  my  firm  will  never  employ  a  dishonest  man." 

"Well,  that's  your  business,"  said  my  friend.  "I 
have  advised  you,  and  that's  all  I  can  do;  but  God  wiU 
never  forgive  you  until  you've  given  that  money  back." 


868        THE  CHRISTIAN'S  DAILY  HELPER 


The  man  sank  into  a  chair  and  covered  his  eyes  for  a 
while.  Then  he  got  up  and  said,  "I'll  do  it."  He  took  a 
Chesapeake  and  Ohio  train  and  went  to  Philadelphia,  and 
went  to  a  great  merchant  prince  in  whose  employ  he  had 
been,  and  told  his  story.  The  merchant  prince  shut  and 
locked  the  door.  "Let  us  pray,"  he  said.  They  knelt 
together,  the  great  merchant's  arm  about  his  visitor;  and 

when  they  got  up 
the  great  merchant 
said:  "Go  in  peace. 
God  bless  you." 

On  the  next 
Simday  the  man 
who  had  confessed 
took  the  Bible  on 
his  knee  as  he  sat 
before  his  class  and 
said  to  them : 
"Young  men,  I 
often  wondered  why 
I  couldn't  win  any 
of  you  to  Christ. 
My  life  was  wrong, 
and  I've  repented 
and  made  it  right." 
That  man  won  his 
entire  class  for  Christ,  and  they  joined  Dr.  McKibben's 
church  at  Walnut  Hills,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

If  you  would  get  right  with  God  what  would  be  the 
result?    Why,  you  would  save  your  city. 

The  Fame  of  a  Christian 

Some  time  ago  the  funeral  of  a  famous  woman  was  held 
in  London.  Edward,  who  was  king  then,  came  with  his 
consort,  Alexandra,  to  look  upon  her  face,  and  dukes  and 
duchesses  and  members  of  the  nobiUty  came.  Then  the 
doors  were  opened  and  the  populace  came  in  by  thousands. 


"  I've  Walked  Sixtt  Miles  to  Look  upon 
Her  Face  Again" 


THE  CHRISTIAN'S  DAILY  HELPER         369 

Down  the  aisle  came  a  woman  whose  face  and  dress  bore 
the  marks  of  poverty.  By  one  hand  she  led  a  child,  and  in 
her  arms  she  carried  another.  As  she  reached  the  coflBn  she 
set  down  the  child  she  was  carrying  and  bent  her  head  upon 
the  glass  above  the  quiet  face  in  the  coflSn,  and  her  old 
fascinator  fell  down  upon  it. 

"Come,"  said  a  poHceman,  "you  must  move  on." 

But  the  woman  stood  by  the  cofiin.  "  I'll  not  move  on," 
she  said,  "for  I  have  a  right  here."  '  ^ 

The  policeman  said,  "You  must  move  on.  It's  orders;" 
but  the  woman  said,  "No,  I've  walked  sixty  miles  to  look 
upon  her  face  again.  She  saved  my  two  boys  from  being 
drunkards."  The  woman  in  the  coffin  was  Mrs.  Booth,  wife 
of  the  great  leader  of  the  Salvation  Army. 

I'd  rather  have  some  reclaimed  drunkard,  or  some  poor 
girl  redeemed  from  sin  and  shame,  stand  by  my  coflBn  and 
rain  down  tears  of  gratitude  upon  it,  than  to  have  a  monu- 
ment of  gold  studded  with  precious  stones,  that  would  pierce 
the  skies. 

"If  ye  love  me  keep  my  commandments.  And  I  will 
pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another  Comforter, 
that  he  may  abide  with  you  forever." 


CHAPTER  XXIX 
A  Victorious  Sermon 

If  you  fall  into  sin  and  you're  a  sheep  you'll  get  out;  if  you're  a  hog 
you'll  stay  there,  just  like  a  sheep  and  a  hog  when  they  fall  into  the  mud. — 
BiLLT  Sunday. 

ON  the  walls  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  home  at  Abbotts- 
ford  hangs  the  claymore  of  the  redoubtable  Rob 
Roy,  one  of  the  most  mteresting  objects  in  that 
absorbing  Ubrary  of  the  great  novelist.  A  pecuHar  inter- 
est attaches  to  the  instruments  of  great  achievement,  as 
the  scimitar  of  Saladin,  or  the  sword  of  Richard  the  Lion- 
Hearted,  or  the  rifle  of  Daniel  Boone.  Something  of  this 
same  sort  of  interest  clings  to  a  particular  form  of  words  that 
has  wrought  wondrously.  Apart  altogether  from  its  con- 
tents, Sunday's  sermon  on  "The  Unpardonable  Sin"  is  of 
peculiar  interest  to  the  reader.  This  is  the  message  that 
has  penetrated  through  the  indifference  and  skepticism  and 
self -righteousness  and  shameless  sin  of  thousands  of  men  and 
women.  Many  thousands  of  persons  have,  under  the  impulse 
of  these  words,  abandoned  their  old  Uves  and  crowded  for- 
ward up  the  sawdust  trail  to  grasp  the  preacher's  hand,  as 
a  sign  that  they  would  henceforth  serve  the  Lord  Christ. 

"The  Unpardonable  Sin"  is  a  good  sample  of  Sunday's 
sermons.  It  shows  the  character  of  the  man's  mind,  and 
that  quaUty  of  sound  reasonableness  which  we  call  "com- 
mon sense."  There  are  no  excesses,  no  abnormahties,  no 
wrenchings  of  Scripture  in  this  terrific  utterance. 

"THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN" 

"Wherefore  I  say  imto  you.  All  manner  of  sin  and 
blasphemy  shall  be  forgiven  unto  men:  but  the  blas- 
phemy against  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  not  be  forgiven  imto 
men. 

(870) 


A  VICTORIOUS  SERMON  371 

"And  whosoever  speaketh  a  word  against  the  Son  of 
man,  it  shall  be  forgiven  him:  but  whosoever  speaketh 
against  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him,  neither 
in  this  world,  neither  in  the  world  to  come." 

I'd  like  to  know  where  anybody  ever  fomid  any 
authority  for  a  behef  in  future  probation.  Jesus  Christ 
was  either  human  or  he  was  divine.  And  if  he  was  only 
human  then  I  am  not  obUgated  to  obey  his  word  any  more 
than  I  am  that  of  any  other  philosopher. 

The  Pharisees  charged  Jesus  with  being  in  league 
with  the  devil.  They  said  to  him,  ''You  have  a  devil." 
They  grew  bolder  in  their  denunciation  and  said:  "You 
do  what  you  do  through  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  devils." 
Jesus  said:  "How  is  that  so?  If  what  I  do  I  do  through 
the  devil,  explain  why  it  is  I  am  overthrowing  the  works 
of  the  devil.  If  I  am  a  devil  and  if  what  I  do  is  through 
the  devil,  then  I  wouldn't  be  working  to  hurt  the  works 
of  the  devil.  I  would  not  be  doing  what  I  am  doing  to 
destroy  the  works  of  the  devil,  but  I  would  be  working  to 
destroy  the  works  of  God." 

From  that  day  forth  they  dared  not  ask  him  any 
questions. 

I  know  there  are  various  opinions  held  by  men  as  to 
what  they  beUeve  constitutes  the  sin  against  the  Holy 
Ghost.  There  are  those  who  think  it  could  have  been 
committed  only  by  those  who  heard  Jesus  Christ  speak 
and  saw  him  in  the  flesh.  If  that  be  true  then  neither  you 
nor  I  are  in  danger,  for  neither  has  ever  seen  Jesus  in  the 
flesh  nor  heard  him.  Another  class  think  that  it  has  been 
committed  since  the  days  of  Jesus,  but  at  extremely  rare 
intervals;  and  still  a  third  class  think  they  have  com- 
mitted it  and  they  spend  their  Hves  in  gloom  and  dread 
and  are  perfectly  useless  to  themselves  and  the  community. 

And  yet  I  haven't  the  slightest  doubt  but  that  there 
are  thousands  that  come  under  the  head  of  my  message, 
who  are  never  gloomy,  never  depressed,  never  downcast; 
their  conscience  is  at  ease,  their  spirits  are  light  and  gay, 


372  A  VICTORIOUS  SERMON 

they  eat  three  meals  a  day  and  sleep  as  sound  as  a  babe 
at  night;  nothing  seems  to  disturb  them,  life  is  all  pleasure 
and  song. 

What  It  Is 

If  you  will  lay  aside  any  preconceived  ideas  or  opinions 
which  you  may  have  had  or  still  have  as  to  what  you 
imagine,  think  or  beheve  constitutes  the  sin  against  the 
Holy  Ghost,  or  the  unpardonable  sin,  and  if  you  will  listen 
to  me,  for  I  have  read  every  sermon  I  could  ever  get  my 
hands  upon  the  subject,  and  have  listened  to  every  man 
I  have  ever  had  an  opportunity  to  hear  preach,  and  have 
read  everything  the  Bible  has  taught  on  the  subject. 

I  do  not  say  that  my  views  on  the  subject  are  infalli- 
ble, but  I  have  wept  and  prayed  and  studied  over  it,  and 
if  time  will  permit  and  my  strength  will  allow  and  your 
patience  endure,  I  will  try  and  ask  and  answer  a  few  ques- 
tions.    What  is  it?    Why  will  God  not  forgive  it? 

It  is  not  swearing.  If  swearing  were  the  unpardonable 
sin,  lots  of  men  in  heaven  would  have  to  go  to  hell  and 
there  are  multitudes  on  earth  on  their  way  to  heaven  who 
would  have  to  go  to  heU.  It  is  not  drunkenness.  There 
are  multitudes  in  heaven  that  have  crept  and  crawled  out 
of  the  quagmires  of  filth  and  the  cesspools  of  iniquity  and 
drunkenness.  Some  of  the  brightest  Hghts  that  ever  blazed 
for  God  have  been  men  that  God  saved  from  drunkenness. 

It's  not  adultery.  Jesus  said  to  the  woman  committing 
adultery  and  caught  in  the  very  act:  "Neither  do  I  con- 
demn thee;  go  and  sin  no  more." 

It  isn't  theft.  He  said  to  Zaccheus,  "This  day  is 
salvation  come  upon  thy  house."  Zaccheus  had  been  a 
thief. 

It's  not  murder.  Men's  hands  have  been  red  with 
blood  and  God  has  forgiven  them.  The  Apostle  Paul's 
hands  were  red  with  blood. 

What  is  it?  To  me  it  is  plain  and  simple.  It  is  con- 
stant and  continual,  and  final  rejection  of  Jesus  Christ  as 


A  VICTORIOUS  SERMON  373 

your  Saviour.  God's  offer  of  mercy  and  salvation  comes 
to  you  and  you  say,  "No,"  and  you  push  it  aside.  I  do 
know  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  the  last  call  to  every 
man  or  woman.  God  says  that  his  spirit  will  not  always 
strive  with  man,  and  when  a  man  or  woman  says  "No" 
as  God's  spirit  strives  for  the  last  time  it  forever  seals  your 
doom. 

It  is  no  special  form  of  sin,  no  one  act.  It  might  be 
sweariQg,  it  might  be  theft.  Any  one  becomes  unpardon- 
able if  God  keeps  caUing  on  you  to  forsake  that  sin  and 
you  keep  on  refusing  to  forsake  it,  and  if  you  don't  then 
he  will  withdraw  and  let  you  alone  and  that  sin  will  become 
unpardonable,  for  God  won't  ask  you  again  to  forsake  it. 

It  is  no  one  glaring  act,  but  the  constant  repetition  of 
the  same  thing.  There  will  come  a  time  when  you  commit 
that  sin  once  too  often. 

It  is  a  known  law  of  mind  that  truth  resisted  loses  its 
power  on  the  mind  that  resists  it.  You  hear  a  truth  the 
first  time  and  reject  it.  The  next  time  the  truth  won't 
seem  so  strong  and  will  be  easier  to  resist.  God  throws 
a  truth  in  your  face.  You  reject  it.  He  throws  again; 
you  reject  again.  Finally  God  will  stop  throwing  the  truth 
at  you  and  you  will  have  committed  the  unpardonable 
sin. 

"There  is  a  line  by  us  unseen; 
It  ci-osses  every  path; 
It  is  God's  boundary  between 
His  patience  and  his  wrath, 

**To  cross  that  limit  is  to  die, 
To  die  as  if  by  stealth. 
It  may  not  dim  your  eye, 
Nor  pale  the  glow  of  health, 

"Your  conscience  may  be  stiU  at  ease; 
Yoiu-  spirits  light  and  gay; 
That  which  pleases  still  may  please, 
And  care  be  thrown  away; 


374  A  VICTORIOUS  SERMOK 

"But  on  that  forehead  God  hath  set 
Indelibly  a  mark, 
Unseen  by  man;  for  man  as  yet 
Is  blind  and  in  the  dark. 

"Indeed,  the  doomed  one's  path  below 
May  bloom  as  Edens  bloom; 
He  does  not,  will  not  know. 
Nor  believe  that  he  is  doomed." 

Over  in  Scotland  there  are  men  who  earn  their  living 
by  gathering  the  eggs  of  birds,  laid  upon  ledges  on  rocks 
away  below  the  cliff  top.  They  fasten  a  rope  to  a  tree, 
also  to  themselves,  then  swing  back  and  forth  and  in  upon 
the  ledge  of  rock.  When  a  man  was  doing  that  same 
thing  years  ago,  the  rope  beneath  his  arms  became  untied, 
and  the  protruding  rock  caused  the  rope  to  hang  many 
feet  beyond  his  reach. 

The  man  waited  for  help  to  come,  but  none  came. 
Darkness  came,  the  light  dawned,  and  he  gave  himself  up 
to  the  fate  of  starvation,  which  he  felt  inevitably  awaiting 
him,  when  a  breeze  freshened  and  the  dangling  rope  began 
to  vibrate.  As  the  wind  increajsed  in  velocity  it  increased 
the  vibration  of  the  rope  and  as  it  would  bend  in,  he  said: 
"If  I  miss  it,  I  die;  if  I  seize  it,  it's  my  only  chance,"  and 
with  a  prayer  to  God  as  the  rope  bent  in,  he  leaped  out 
of  the  chasm  and  seized  it  and  made  his  way  hand  over 
hand  to  the  top,  and  when  he  reached  it  his  hair  was  as 
white  as  the  driven  snow. 

There  is  one  cord  that  swings  through  this  old  world 
today — the  Holy  Spirit.  With  every  invitation  it  swings 
farther  away.  We  are  living  in  the  last  dispensation,  the 
dispensation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  God  is  speaking  to 
the  world  through  the  Holy  Spirit  today. 

Resisting  the  Truth 

By  every  known  law  of  the  mind,  conversion  must  be 
effected  by  tlie  influence  of  the  truth  on  the  mind.    Every 


A;  VICTORIOUS  SERMON  375 

feime  you  resist  the  truth  the  next  time  you  hear  it,  it  loses 
its  force  on  your  mind.  And  every  time  you  hear  a  truth 
and  withstand  it,  then  you  become  stronger  in  your  power 
to  resist  the  truth.  We  all  know  this,  that  each  resistance 
strengthens  you  against  the  truth.  When  a  man  hears 
the  truth  and  he  resists  it,  the  truth  grows  weaker  and  he 
grows  stronger  to  resist  it. 

No  matter  what  Jesus  Christ  did  the  Jews  refused  tt 
believe.  He  had  performed  wonderful  deeds  but  they 
wouldn't  beheve,  so  when  Lazarus  was  dead,  he  said: 
"Lazarus,  come  forth,"  and  then  turned  to  the  Jews  and 
said:  "Isn't  that  evidence  enough  that  I  am  the  Son  of 
God?"  and  they  cried:  "Away  with  him."  One  day  he 
was  walking  down  the  hot  dusty  road  and  he  met  a  funeral 
procession.  The  moiu-ners  were  bearing  the  body  of  a 
young  man  and  his  mother  was  weeping.  He  told  them 
to  place  the  coflSn  on  the  ground  and  said: 

"Young  man  arise,"  and  he  arose.  Then  he  asked 
the  Pharisees:  "Is  that  not  proof  enough  that  I  am  the 
Son  of  God,  that  I  make  the  dead  to  arise?"  and  they 
cried:  "Away  with  him."  So  no  matter  what  Jesus  did, 
the  Jews  refused  to  beheve  him.  No  matter  what  Jesus 
Christ  says  or  does  today,  you'll  refuse  to  accept,  and  con- 
tinue to  rush  pell-mell  to  eternal  damnation. 

"Too  Late" 

Jesus  Christ  gives  you  just  as  much  evidence  today. 
Down  in  Indiana,  my  friend,  Mrs.  Robinson,  was  preaching. 
I  don't  remember  the  town,  but  I  think  it  was  Kokomo, 
and  I  remember  the  incident,  and  the  last  day  she  tried 
to  get  the  leader  of  society  there  to  give  her  heart  to  God. 
She  preached  and  then  went  down  in  the  aisle  and  talked 
to  her.  Then  she  went  back  to  the  platform  and  made 
her  appeal  from  there.  Again  she  went  to  the  girl,  but 
she  still  refused.  As  Mrs.  Robinson  tiu'ned  to  go  she  saw 
her  borrow  a  pencil  from  her  escort  and  write  something 
in  the  back  of  a  hymn  book. 


376  A  VICTORIOUS  SERMON 

A  few  years  afterward  Mrs.  Robinson  went  back  to 
the  town  and  was  told  the  girl  was  dying.  They  told  her 
the  physicians  had  just  held  a  consultation  and  said  she 
could  not  hve  until  night.  Mrs.  Robinson  hurried  to  her 
home.  The  girl  looked  up,  recognized  her  and  said:  "I 
didn't  send  for  you.  You  came  on  your  own  account, 
and  you're  too  late."  To  every  appeal  she  would  reply: 
"You're  too  late."  Finally  she  said:  "Go  look  in  the 
hymn  book  in  the  church." 

They  hurried  to  the  church  and  looked  over  the  hymn 
books  and  found  in  the  back  of  one  her  name  and  address 
and  these  words,  "I'll  nm  the  risk;  I'll  take  my  chance." 
That  was  the  last  call  to  her.  Not  any  one  sin  is  the 
unpardonable  sin,  but  it  may  be  that  constant  repetition, 
over  and  over  again  until  God  will  say:  "Take  it  and  go 
to  hell." 

Who  can  conunit  it?  I  used  to  think  that  only  the 
vile,  the  profane  were  the  people  who  could  commit  it. 

Whom  did  Jesus  warn?  The  Pharisees.  And  who 
were  they?     The  best  men,  morally,  in  Jerusalem. 

Who  can  commit  it?  Any  man  or  woman  who  says 
"No"  to  Jesus  Christ.  You  may  even  defend  the  Bible. 
You  may  be  the  best  man  or  woman,  morally,  in  the  world. 
Your  name  may  be  synonymous  with  virtue  and  purity, 
but  let  God  try  to  get  into  your  heart,  let  him  try  to  get 
you  to  walk  down  the  aisle  and  publicly  acknowledge  Jesus 
Christ,  and  your  heart  and  hps  are  sealed  like  a  bank 
vault,  and  God  hasn't  been  able  to  pull  you  to  your  feet. 
And  God  won't  keep  on  begging  you  to  do  it. 

Something  may  say  to  you,  "I  ought  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian." This  .is  the  dispensation  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  God 
spoke  in  three  dispensations.  First,  through  the  old  Mosaic 
law.  Then  Jesus  Christ  came  upon  this  earth  and  Uved 
and  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  conspired  to  kill  him.  Then 
the  Holy  Spirit  came  down  at  Pentecost  and  God  is  speak- 
ing through  the  Holy  Spirit  today.  The  Holy  Spirit  is 
pressing  you  to  be  a  Christian.     It  takes  the  combined 


A  VICTORIOUS  SERMON  377 

efforts  of  the  Trinity  to  keep  you  out  of  hell — God  the 
Father  to  provide  the  plan  of  salvation,  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  convict,  Jesus  Christ  to  redeem  you  through  his  blood, 
and  yoiu"  acceptance  and  repentance  to  save  you.  Sin  is 
no  trifle. 

Representative  of  the  Trinity 

The  only  representative  of  the  Trinity  in  the  world 
today  is  the  Holy  Ghost.  Jesus  has  been  here,  but  he  is 
not  here  now — that  is,  in  flesh  and  blood.  The  Holy  Ghost 
is  here  now.    When  he  leaves  the  world,  good-bye. 

There  was  an  old  saint  of  God,  now  in  glory.  He 
was  holding  meetings  one  time  and  a  young  man  came 
down  the  aisle  and  went  so  far  as  to  ask  him  to  pray  for 
him.  He  said:  "Let's  settle  it  now,"  but  the  young  man 
refused  and  told  him  to  pray  for  him.  Years  afterwards, 
in  Philadelphia,  the  old  saint  was  in  a  hotel  waiting  for 
his  card  to  be  taken  up  to  the  man  he  wanted  to  see.  He 
looked  in  the  bar-room  door.  There  was  a  young  man 
ordering  a  drink.  The  two  saw  each  other's  reflections  in 
the  French  plate  behind  the  bar,  and  the  young  man  came 
out  and  said:  "How  do  you  do?"  The  old  man  spoke  to 
him. 

The  young  fellow  said:  "I  suppose  you  don't  remember 
me?"  and  the  old  saint  had  to  admit  that  he  did  not 

The  young  feUow  asked  him  if  he  remembered  the 
meeting  eleven  years  before  in  New  York  when  a  young 
man  came  down  the  aisle  and  asked  him  to  pray  for  him. 
He  said  he  was  the  young  man.  The  old  saint  said :  "From 
what  I  have  just  seen  I  would  suppose  that  you  did  not 
settle  it." 

The  yoimg  fellow  said:  "I  did  not  and  I  never  expect 
to.  I  beUeve  there  is  a  heU  and  I'm  going  there  as  fast 
as  I  can  go." 

The  old  man  begged  him  to  keep  stiU,  but  he  said: 
"It  is  true.  If  Jesus  Christ  would  come  through  that  door 
now  I  would  spit  in  his  face." 


378  A  VICTORIOUS' SERMON 

The  old  man  said:  "Don't  talk. that  way.  I  would 
not  stand  to  have  you  talk  about  my  wife  that  way,  and 
I  will  not  stand  it  to  have  you  talk  about  Christ  that  way." 
The  young  fellow  said  it  was  all  true.  The  old  fellow  said : 
"Maybe  it  is  all  true,  but  I  do  not  like  to  hear  it."  The 
young  fellow  said  it  was  true,  and  that  if  he  had  a  Bible 
he  would  tear  it  up.  With  a  string  of  oaths  he  went  to 
the  bar,  took  two  or  three  drinks  and  went  out  the  door. 

Sometimes  it  may  be  utter,  absolute  indifference. 
Some  can  hear  any  sermon  and  any  song  and  not  be  moved. 
I'll  venture  that  some  of  you  have  not  been  convicted  of 
sin  for  twenty-five  years.  Back  yonder  the  Spirit  of  God 
convicted  you  and  you  didn't  yield.  The  first  place  I 
ever  preached,  in  the  little  town  of  Gamer,  in  Hancock 
county,  Iowa,  a  man  came  down  the  aisle.  I  said,  "Who's 
that?"  and  someone  told  me  that  he  was  one  of  the  rich- 
est men  in  the  county.  I  asked  him  what  I  had  said  to 
help  him,  and  he  said  nothing.  Then  he  told  me  that 
twenty-one  years  ago  he  had  gone  to  Chicago  and  sold  his 
stock  four  hours  before  he  had  to  catch  a  train.  Moody 
was  in  town  and  with  a  friend  he  had  gone  and  stood 
inside  the  door,  Ustening  to  the  sermon.  When  Moody 
gave  the  invitation  he  handed  his  coat  and  hat  to  his  friend 
and  said  he  was  going  down  to  give  Moody  his  hand.  The 
friend  told  him  not  to  do  it,  that  he  would  miss  his  train, 
and  then  the  railroad  pass  would  be  no  good  after  that 
day.     He  said  he  could  afford  to  pay  his  way  home. 

His  friend  told  him  not  to  go  up  there  amid  all  the 
excitement,  but  to  wait  and  settle  it  at  home.  He  said 
he  had  waited  thirty-five  years  and  hadn't  settled  it  at 
home,  but  the  friend  persisted  against  his  going  forward 
and  giving  his  heart  to  God.  Finally  the  time  passed  and 
they  had  to  catch  the  train  and  the  man  hadn't  gone  for- 
ward. He  told  me  that  he  had  never  had  a  desire  to  give 
his  heart  to  God  until  that  time,  twenty-one  years  later, 
when  he  heard  me  preach.  The  Spirit  called  him  when 
he  heard  Moody,  and  then  the  Spirit  did  not  call  him 
again  until  twenty-one  years  later,  when  he  heard  me. 


A' VICTORIOUS  SERMON  379 

I  have  never  said  and  I  never  will  say  that  all  unbe- 
lievers died  in  agony.  Man  ordinarily  dies  as  he  has  Uved. 
If  you  have  lived  in  unbeUef,  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  one 
hundred  you'll  die  that  way.  If  Christianity  is  a  good 
thing  to  die  with  it  is  a  good  thing  to  Uve  with. 

Death-bed  Confessions 

I  don't  go  much  on  these  death-bed  confessions.  A 
death-bed  confession  is  like  burning  a  candle  at  both  ends 
and  then  blowing  the  smoke  in  the  face  of  Jesus.  A  death- 
bed confession  is  like  drinking  the  cup  of  life  and  then  offer- 
ing the  dregs  to  Christ.  I  think  it  is  one  of  the  most  con- 
temptible, miserable,  low-down,  unmanly  and  unwomanly 
things  that  you  can  do,  to  keep  your  life  in  your  own  con- 
trol imtil  the  last  moment  and  then  try  to  creep  into  the 
kingdom  on  account  of  the  long-suffering  and  mercy  of 
Jesus  Christ.  I  don't  say  that  none  is  genuine.  But 
there  is  only  one  on  record  in  the  Bible,  and  that  was  the 
first  time  the  dying  thief  had  ever  heard  of  Christ,  and  he 
accepted  at  once.  So  your  case  is  not  analogous  to  this. 
You  have  wagon  loads  of  sermons  dumped  into  you,  but  it's 
a  mighty  hard  thing  to  accept  in  the  last  moment.  If  you've 
Uved  without  conviction,  your  friends  ought  not  to  get 
mad  when  the  preacher  preaches  your  funeral  sermon,  if 
he  doesn't  put  you  in  the  front  row  in  heaven,  with  a  harp 
in  your  hands  and  a  crown  on  your  head. 

God  can  forgive  sins  but  you  have  got  to  comply  with 
his  requirements.  He  is  not  willing  that  an>  shall  perish,  but 
he  has  a  right  to  tell  me  and  you  what  to  do  to  be  saved. 

A  doctor  had  been  a  practitioner  for  sixty  years  and 
he  was  asked  how  many  Godless  men  he  had  seen  show 
any  trace  of  concern  on  their  death-bed.  He  said  he  had 
kept  track  of  three  hundred  and  only  three  had  shown 
any  real  concern.  That  is  appalling  to  me.  You  ordi- 
narily die  as  you  have  Uved. 

A  minister  was  caUed  to  a  house  of  shame  to  be  with 
a  dying  girl  in  her  last  moments.     He  prayed  and  then 


380  A  VICTORIOUS  SERMON 

looked  at  her  face  and  saw  no  signs  of  hope  of  repentance. 
He  was  led  to  pray  again  and  this  time  he  was  led  to  put 
in  a  verse  of  scripture,  Isaiah  1  :  18:  "Come  now  and  let 
us  reason  together,  saith  the  Lord:  Though  your  sins  be 
as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow;  though  they 
be  red  like  crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool." 

"Is  that  what  the  Bible  says?"  the  girl  asked.  He  said 
it  was.  "Would  you  let  me  see  it?"  and  the  minister 
pointed  it  out  to  her. 

"Would  you  pray  again  and  put  in  that  verse?"  the 
girl  asked  and  as  he  started  she  called,  "Stop!  Let  me 
put  my  finger  on  that  verse."  The  minister  prayed  and 
when  he  looked  again,  he  saw  hope  and  pardoQ  and  peace 
in  the  girl's  face.  "I'm  so  glad  God  made  that  'scarlet,'  " 
she  said,  "for  that  means  me." 

All  manner  of  sins  God  will  forgive.  Then  tell  me 
why  you  will  not  come  when  God  says,  "All  manner  of 
sin  and  blasphemy  shall  be  forgiven  unto  men."  Great 
heavens!     I  can't  understand  how  you  sit  still. 

But  a  man  says:  "Bill,  will  He  forgive  a  murderer? 
My  hands  are  red  with  blood,  although  no  one  knows  it.'^ 
Didn't  I  say  he  forgave  Paul? 

A  Forgiving  God 

A  friend  of  mine  was  preaching  in  Lansing,  Michigan, 
one  time,  and  in  the  middle  section  of  the  church  there 
was  a  man  who  made  him  so  nervous  he  couldn't  watch 
him  and  preach.  Nothing  seemed  to  attract  him  until  he 
said,  "Supposing  there  were  a  murderer  here  tonight,  God 
would  forgive  him  if  he  accepted  Christ,"  and  the  man 
grabbed  the  chair  in  front  of  him  at  the  word  murderer 
and  sat  rigid  throughout  the  sermon,  never  taking  his  eyes 
from  my  friend.  At  the  end  of  the  meeting  my  friend 
went  down  to  him  and  asked  him  what  was  the  matter, 
telling  him  that  he  had  made  him  so  nervous  he  could  hardly 
preach.  The  man  said:  "I'm  a  murderer.  I  escaped 
through  a  technicality  and  I'm  supporting  the  widow  and 


A  VICTORIOUS  SERMON  381 

children,  but  I  am  a  murderer."  My  friend  brought  him 
to  Jesus  Christ  and  now  that  man  is  a  power  in  the  Church. 
All  manner  of  sins  God  says  he  will  forgive. 

Some  say:  "Mr.  Simday,  why  is  it  that  so  few  aged 
sinners  are  converts?" 

Infidels  when  asked  this,  seize  upon  it  as  a  plan  of 
attack.  When  God  begins  to  show  his  power,  then  the 
devil  and  all  of  the  demons  of  hell  get  busy.  That's  the 
best  evidence  in  the  world  that  these  meetings  are  doing 
good,  when  that  bimch  of  knockers  gets  busy.  Infidels 
sneer  and  say:  "How  does  it  happen  that  when  a  man's 
mind  has  developed  through  age  and  experience  and  contact 
with  the  world,  and  he  has  passed  the  period  of  youthful 
enthusiasm,  how  does  it  happen  that  so  few  of  them  are 
converted?" 

Religion  makes  its  appeal  to  your  sensibiHty,  not  to 
your  intellect.  The  way  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
heart  first,  not  head  first.  God  is  not  an  explanation;  God 
is  a  revelation. 

A  grain  of  com  is  a  revelation,  but  you  can't  explain 
it.  You  know  that  if  you  put  the  vegetable  kingdom  in 
the  mineral  kingdom  the  vegetable  wiU  be  born  again,  but 
you  can't  explain  it.  Some  of  the  greatest  things  are  reve- 
lations. Therefore,  instead  of  being  an  argument  against 
reUgion,  it  is  an  argument  for  it. 

Don't  you  know  that  sixteen  out  of  twenty  who  are 
converted  are  converted  before  they  are  twenty  years  old? 
Don't  you  know  that  eighteen  out  of  thirty  who  are  con- 
verted are  converted  before  they  are  thirty  years  old? 
Don't  you  know  that? 

What  does  that  prove?  It  proves  that  if  you  are 
not  converted  before  you  are  thirty  years  old  the  chances 
are  about  100,000  to  one  that  you  never  will  be  converted. 

Power  of  Revivals 

Most  people  aie  converted  at  special  revival  services. 
I  want  to  hurl  this  in  the  teeth,  cram  it  down  the  throats 


382  A  VICTORIOUS  SERMON 

of  those  who  sne^r  at  revival  efforts — ^preachers  included. 
Almost  nine-tenths  of  the  Christians  at  this  meeting  were 
converted  at  a  revival.  What  does  that  show?  It  shows 
that  if  you  are  thirty  and  have  not  been  converted,  the 
chances  are  that  if  you  are  not  converted  at  this  revival 
you  never  will  be  converted. 

If  it  weren't  for  revivals,  just  think  of  what  hell  would 
be  like.  Then  think  of  any  low-down,  God-forsaken, 
dirty  gang  knocking  a  revival. 

God  says:  "You  can  spurn  my  love  and  trample  the 
blood  under  your  feet,  but  if  you  seek  my  pardon  I  will 
forgive  you."  You  might  have  been  indifferent  to  the 
appeals  of  the  minister,  you  might  have  been  a  thief,  or 
an  adulterer,  or  a  blasphemer,  or  a  scoffer,  and  all  that, 
but  God  says:  "I  will  forgive  you."  You  might  have 
been  indifferent  to  the  tears  of  poor  wife  and  children  and 
friends,  but  if  you  will  seek  God  he  will  forgive  you. 

But  when  He  came  down  and  revealed  himself  as  the 
Son  of  God  through  the  Holy  Spirit,  if  you  sneer  and  say 
it  is  not  true,  your  sin  may  become  unpardonable.  If  you 
don't  settle  it  here  you  never  will  settle  it  anywhere  else. 

I  will  close  with  a  word  of  comfort  and  a  word  of 
warning.  If  you  have  a  desire  to  be  a  Christian  it  is  proof 
that  the  devil  hasn't  got  you  yet.  That  is  the  comfort. 
Now  for  the  warning:  If  you  have  that  desire  thank  God 
for  it  and  yield  to  it.    You  may  never  have  another  chance. 


CHAPTER  XXX 
Eternity!  Eternity! 

I  ten  you  a  lot  of  people  are  going  to  be  fooled  on  the  Day  of  Judgment. 
— Billy  Sunday. 

ONLY  a  man  to  whom  has  been  given,  eloquence  and 
a  dramatic  instinct  can  drive  home  to  the  average 
mind  the  reaUties  of  eternity  and  its  relation  to 
right  living  in  this  world  and  time.  Under  the  title  "What 
Shall  the  End  Be?"  Smiday  has  widely  circulated  his 
message  upon  this  theme: 

"WHAT  SHALL  THE  END  BE?" 

No  book  ever  came  by  luck  or  chance.  Every  book 
owes  its  existence  to  some  being  or  beings,  and  within  the 
range  and  scope  of  human  intelUgence  there  are  but  three 
things — good,  bad  and  God.  All  that  originates  in  intellect; 
all  which  the  intellect  can  comprehend,  must  come  from  one 
of  the  three.  This  book,  the  Bible,  could  not  possibly  be 
the  product  of  evil,  wicked,  godless,  corrupt,  vile  men,  for 
it  pronoimces  the  heaviest  penalties  against  sin.  Like 
produces  like,  and  if  bad  men  were  writiug  the  Bible  they 
never  would  have  pronounced  condemnation  and  punish- 
ment against  wrong-doing.     So  that  is  pushed  aside. 

The  holy  men  of  old,  we  are  told,  spake  as  they  were 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Men  do  not  attribute  these 
beautiful  and  matchless  and  well-arranged  sentences  to 
hiunan  intelligence  alone,  but  we  are  told  that  men  spake 
as  they  were  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  only  being  left,  to  whom  you,  or  I  or  any  sensible 
person  could  ascribe  the  origin  of  the  Bible,  is  God,  for  here 
is  a  book,  the  excellence  of  which  rises  above  other  books, 
like  mountains  above  molehills — a  book  whose  brilliancy 
and  life-giving  power  exceed  the  accumulated  knowledge 

(383) 


384  ETERNITY!  ETERNITYI 

and  combined  efforts  of  men,  as  the  sim  exceeds  the  lamp, 
which  is  but  a  base  imitation  of  the  smi's  glory.  Here  is  a 
book  that  tells  me  where  I  came  from  and  where  I  am  going, 
a  book  without  which  I  would  not  know  of  my  origin  or 
destiny,  except  as  I  might  glean  it  from  the  dim  outlines  of 
reason  or  nature,  either  or  both  of  which  would  be  unsatis- 
factory to  me.  Here  is  a  book  that  tells  me  what  to  do  and 
what  not  to  do. 

Men  Believe  in  God 

Most  men  beUeve  in  God.  Now  and  then  you  find 
a  man  who  doesn't,  and  he's  a  fool,  for  "The  fool  hath  said 
in  his  heart,  there  is  no  God."  Most  men  have  sense. 
Occasionally  you  will  find  a  fool,  or  an  infidel,  who  doesn't 
believe  in  God.  Most  men  believe  in  a  God  that  v/ill  reward 
the  right  and  punish  the  wrong;  therefore  it  is  clear  what 
attitude  you  ought  to  assume  toward  my  message  tonight, 
for  the  message  I  bring  to  you  is  not  from  human  reason  or 
inteUigence,  but  from  God's  Book. 

"What  shall  the  end  be  of  them  that  obey  not  the 
gospel  of  God?"  Now  Hsten,  and  I  will  try  to  help  you. 
Israel's  condition  was  desperate.  Peter  told  them  that  if 
they  continued  to  break  God's  law,  they  would  merit  his 
wrath.  I  can  imagine  him  crying  out  in  the  words  of  Jere- 
miah: "What  will  you  do  in  the  swelling  of  the  Jordan?" 
I  hear  him  cry  in  the  words  of  Solomon:  "The  way  of  the 
transgressor  is  hard."  That  seems  to  have  moved  him, 
and  I  can  hear  him  cry  in  the  words  of  my  text:  "What 
shall  the  end  be  of  them  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  God?'* 

There  are  those  who  did  obey.  Peter  knew  what  their 
end  would  be — ^blessings  here  and  eternal  life  hereafter — 
but  he  said,  "What  shall  the  end  be  of  them  that  obey  not?" 

A  man  said,  "I  cannot  be  a  Christian.  I  cannot  obey 
God."  That  is  not  true.  That  would  make  God  out  a 
demon  and  a  wretch.  God  says  if  you  are  not  a  Christian 
you  will  be  doomed.  If  God  asked  mankind  to  do  some- 
thing, and  he  knew  when  he  asked  them  that  they  could 


ETERNITY!  ETERNITY!  iSft 

not  do  it,  and  he  told  them  he  would  danin  them  if  they 
didn't  do  it,  it  would  make  God  out  a  demon  and  a  wretch, 
and  I  will  not  allow  you  or  any  other  man  to  stand  up  and 
insult  my  God.  You  can  be  a  Christian  if  you  want,  to, 
and  it  is  your  cussedness  that  you  are  unwiUing  to  give  up 
that  keeps  you  away  from  God. 

Supposing  I  should  go  on  top  of  a  building  and  say  to  my 
little  baby  boy,  ''Fly  up  to  me."  If  he  could  talk,  he  would 
say,  "I  can't."  And  supposing  I  would  say,  "But  you  can; 
if  you  don't,  I'll  whip  you  to  death."  When  I  asked  him  to 
do  it,  I  knew  he  couldn't,  yet  I  told  him  I  would  whip  him  to 
death  if  he  didn't,  and  in  saying  that  I  would,  as  an  earthly 
father,  be  just  as  reasonable  as  God  would  be  if  he  should 
ask  you  to  do  something  you  couldn't  do,  and  though  he 
knew  when  he  asked  you  that  you  couldn't  do  it,  neverthe- 
less would  damn  you  if  you  didn't  do  it. 

Don't  tell  God  you  can't.  Just  say  you  don't  want  to  be 
a  Christian,  that's  the  way  to  be  a  man.  Just  say,  ''I  dcn't 
want  to  be  decent;  I  don't  want  to  quit  cussing;  I  don't 
want  to  quit  booze-fighting;  I  don't  want  to  quit  lying;  I 
don't  want  to  quit  committing  adultery.  If  I  should  be  a 
Christian  I  would  have  to  quit  all  these  things,  and  I  don't 
want  to  do  it."  Tell  God  you  are  not  man  enough  to  be  a 
Christian.  Don't  try  to  saddle  it  off  on  the  Lord.  You 
don't  want  to  do  it,  that's  all;  that's  the  trouble  with  you. 

At  the  Cross 

A  man  in  a  town  in  Ohio  came  and  handed  one  of  the 
ministers  a  letter,  and  he  said,  "I  want  you  to  read  that 
when  you  get  home."  When  the  minister  got  home  he 
opened  it  and  it  read  like  this: 

"I  was  at  the  meeting  last  night,  and  somehow  or  other, 
the  words  'WTiat  shall  the  end  be?'  got  hold  of  me,  and 
troubled  me.  I  went  to  bed,  but  couldn't  sleep.  I  got  up 
and  went  to  my  Ubrary.  I  took  down  my  books  on  infidehty 
and  searched  them  through  and  searched  through  the  writ- 
ings of  Voltaire,  and  Darwin,  and^Spencer,  and  Strauss,  and 

25 


386  ETERNITY!  ETERNITY! 

Huxley,  and  Tyndall,  and  through  the  lectures  of  IngersoU, 
but  none  of  them  could  answer  the  cry  and  longmg  of  my 
heart,  and  I  tm-n  to  you.  Is  there  help?  Where  will  I  fmd 
it?"  And  that  man  found  it  where  every  man  ever  has,  or 
ever  will  find  it,  down  at  the  Cross  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  I 
have  been  praying  God  that  might  be  the  experience  of  many 
a  man  and  woman  in  this  Tabernacle. 

Ever  since  God  saved  my  soul  and  sent  me  out  to  preach, 
I  have  prayed  him  to  enable  me  to  pronounce  two  words,  and 
put  into  those  words  all  they  will  mean  to  you ;  if  they  ever 
become  a  reality,  God  pity  you.  One  word  is  "Lost,"  and 
the  other  is  "Eternity." 

Ten  thousand  years  from  now  we  will  all  be  somewhere. 
Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  years, 
the  eternity  has  just  begun.  Increase  the  multiple  and  you 
will  only  increase  the  truth.  If  God  should  commission  a 
bird  to  carry  this  earth,  particle  by  particle,  to  yonder  planet, 
making  a  round  trip  once  in  a  thousand  years,  and  if,  after 
the  bird  had  p^formed  that  task  God  should  prolong  its 
life,  and  it  would  carry  the  world  back,  particle  by  particle, 
making  a  round  trip  once  in  a  thousand  years,  and  put 
everything  back  as  it  was  originally,  after  it  had  accomplished 
its  task,  you  would  have  been  five  minutes  in  eternity ;  and 
yet  you  sit  there  with  just  a  heart-beat  between  you  and  the 
judgment  of  God.  I  have  been  praying  that  God  would 
enable  me  to  pronounce  those  two  words  and  put  in  them  all 
they  will  mean  to  you,  that  I  might  startle  you  from  your 
lethargy.  I  prayed  God,  too,  that  he  might  give  me  some 
new  figure  of  speech  tonight,  that  he  might  impress  my  mind, 
that  I,  in  turn,  might  impress  your  mind  in  such  a  manner 
that  I  could  startle  you  from  your  indifference  and  sin,  until 
you  would  rush  to  Jesus. 

The  Judgment  of  God 

What  is  your  fife?  A  hand's  breadth — ^yes,  a  hair's 
breadth — ^yes,  one  single  heart-beat,  and  you  are  gone,  and 
yet  you  sit  with  the  judgment  of  God  hovering  over  you. 
"What  shall  the  end  be?" 


ETERNITYI  ETERNITY!  387 

I  never  met  any  man  or  woman  in  my  life  who  disbe- 
lieved in  Christianity  but  could  not  be  classified  under  one 
of  these  two  headings. 

First — They  who,  because  of  an  utter  disregard  of  God's 
claims  upon  their  lives,  have,  by  and  through  that  disregard, 
become  poltroons,  marplots  or  degenerate  scoundrels,  and 
have  thrown  themselves  beyond  the  pale  of  God's  mercy. 

Second — Men  and  women  with  splendid,  noble  and 
magnificent  abihties,  which  they  have  allowed  to  become 
absorbed  in  other  matters,  and  they  do  not  give  to  the  sub- 
jects of  religion  so  much  as  passing  attention.  They  have 
the  audacity  to  claim  for  themselves  an  intellectual  superior- 
ity to  those  who  beheve  the  Bible,  which  they  sneeringly 
term  *  that  superstition."  But,  hsten!  I  will  challenge 
you.  If  you  will  bring  to  rehgion  or  to  the  divinity  of  Jesus, 
or  the  salvation  of  your  soul,  the  same  honest  inquiry  you 
demand  of  yourself  in  other  matters,  you  will  know  God  is 
God;  you  will  know  the  Bible  is  the  Word  of  God,  and  you 
will  know  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God.  You  will 
know  that  you  are  a  sinner  on  the  road  to  hell,  and  you  will 
turn  from  your  sins.  But  you  don't  give  to  reUgion,  you 
don't  demand  of  yourself,  the  same  amount  of  research  that 
you  would  demand  of  yourself  if  you  were  going  to  buy  a 
piece  of  property,  to  find  out  whether  or  not  the  title  was  per- 
fect. You  wouldn't  buy  it  if  you  didn't  know  the  title  was 
without  a  flaw,  and  yet  you  will  pass  the  Bible  by  and  claim 
you  have  more  sense  than  the  person  who  does  investigate 
and  finds  out,  accepts  and  is  saved. 

Glad  Tidings  to  All 

What  is  the  Gospel  that  the  people  ought  to  obey  it? 
It  is  good  news,  glad  tidings  of  salvation,  through  Jesus 
Christ. 

Oh,  but  somebody  says,  do  you  call  the  news  of  that 
book  that  I  am  on  the  road  to  hell,  good  news?  No,  sir;  that 
in  itseK  is  not  good  news,  but  since  it  is  the  truth,  the  sooner 
you  find  out  the  better  it  will  be  for  you. 


388  ETERNITY!  ETERNITY! 

Supposing  you  are  wandering,  lost  in  a  swamp,  and  a 
man  would  come  to  you  and  say:  "You  are  lost."  That 
wouldn't  help  you.  But  supposing  the  man  said :  "You  are 
lost;  I  am  a  guide;  I  know  the  way  out.  If  you  put  yoiu-- 
self  in  my  care,  I  will  lead  you  back  to  your  home,  back  to 
your  loved  ones.  "  That  would  meet  yoiu*  condition. 

Now  God  doesn't  tell  you  that  you  are  lost,  and  on  the 
road  to  hell,  and  then  leave  you,  but  he  tells  you  that  you 
are  on  the  road  to  hell,  and  he  says,  "I  have  sent  a  guide,  my 
Son,  to  lead  you  out,  and  to  lead  you  back  to  peace  and  salva- 
tion." That's  good  news,  that  God  is  kind  enough  to  tell 
you  that  you  are  lost,  and  on  the  road  to  hell,  and  that  he 
sends  a  guide,  who,  if  you  will  submit,  will  lead  you  out  of 
yom*  condition  and  lead  you  to  peace  and  salvation.  That's 
gospel;  that's  good  news  that  tells  a  man  that  he  needn't  go 
to  hell  unless  he  wants  to. 

When  the  Israehtes  were  bitten  by  the  serpents  in  the 
wilderness,  wasn't  if  good  news  for  them  to  know  that 
Moses  had  raised  up  a  brazen  serpent  and  bid  them  all  to 
look  and  be  healed? 

When  the  flood  came,  wasn't  it  good  news  for  Noah  to 
know  that  he  would  be  saved  in  the  ark? 

When  the  city  of  Jericho  was  going  to  fall,  wasn't  it 
good  news  to  Rahab.  She  had  been  kind  and  had  hid  two  of 
God's  servants  who  were  being  pursued  as  spies.  They  were 
running  across  the  housetops  to  get  away  to  the  wall  to  drop 
down,  and  Rahab  covered  them,  on  top  of  her  house,  with 
grass  and  corn,  and  when  the  men  came  they  could  not  find 
them.  After  the  men  had  gone,  Rahab  gave  them  cord  and 
lowered  them  down  the  wall,  and  God  said  to  her,  "Because 
you  did  that  for  my  servants,  I  will  save  you  and  your  house- 
hold when  I  take  the  city  of  Jericho.  What  I  want  you  to 
do  is  to  hang  a  scarlet  Hne  out  of  your  window  and  I  will 
save  all  that  are  under  your  roof."  Wasn't  it  good  news 
to  her  to  know  that  she  and  all  her  household  would  be  saved 
by  hanging  a  scarlet  line  out  of  the  window?  Never  has 
such  news  been  published.     "Thou  shalt  call  his  name 


ETERNITY!  ETERNITY  1  389 

Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins."  It  was 
good  news,  but  never  has  such  news  reached  the  world  as 
that  man  need  not  go  to  hell,  for  God  has  provided  re- 
demption for  them  that  will  accept  of  it  and  be  saved. 

Supposing  a  man  owed  you  $5,000  and  he  had  nothing 
to  pay  it  with.  You  would  seize  him  and  put  him  in  jail,  and 
supposing  while  there,  your  own  son  would  come  and  say: 
"Father,  how  much  does  he  owe  you?"  "Five  thousand 
dollars."  And  your  son  would  pay  it  and  the  man  would 
be  released. 

Ah,  my  friends,  hear  me!  We  were  all  mortgaged  to 
God,  had  nothing  with  which  to  pay,  and  inflexible  justice 
seized  upon  us  and  put  us  in  the  prison  of  condemnation. 
God  took  pity  on  us.  He  looked  aroimd  to  find  some  one 
to  pay  our  debts.  Jesus  Christ  stepped  forward  and  said: 
"I'll  go;  I'll  become  bone  of  their  bone  and  flesh  of  their 
flesh."  God  gave  man  the  Mosaic  law.  Man  broke  the 
law. 

If  a  Jew  violated  the  law  he  was  compelled  to  bring  a 
turtle  dove,  or  pigeon,  or  heifer,  or  bullock  to  the  high  priest 
for  a  sacrifice,  and  the  shedding  of  its  blood  made  atonement 
for  his  sins.  Once  a  year  the  high  priest  would  kill  the 
sacrifice,  putting  it  on  the  altar.  That  made  atonement 
for  the  sins  of  the  people  during  the  year.  Then  they  would 
put  their  hand  on  the  head  of  the  scape-goat,  and  lead  it 
out  into  the  wilderness. 

The  Atonement  of  Christ 

Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world,  bom  of  a  woman. 
When  he  shed  his  blood,  he  made  atonement  for  our  sins. 
God  says,  "If  you  will  accept  Jesus  Christ  as  your  Saviour, 
I  will  put  it  to  your  credit  as  though  you  kept  the  law." 
And  it's  Jesus  Christ  or  hell  for  every  man  or  woman  on  God 
Ahnighty's  dirt.  There  is  no  other  way  whereby  you  can  be 
saved.  It's  good  news  that  you  don't  have  to  go  to  hell, 
unless  you  want  to. 

When  the  North  German  Lloyd  steamer,  the  Elbe,  went 


390  ETERNITY!  ETERNITY! 

down  in  the  North  Sea,  years  and  years  ago,  only  nineteen 
of  her  passengers  and  crew  were  saved.  Among  them  was  a 
county  commissioner  who  hved  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  when 
he  reached  the  little  EngUsh  town  he  sent  a  cablegram  to 
his  wife,  in  which  he  said,  ''The  Elbe  is  lost;  I  am  saved." 
She  crmnpled  that  cablegram,  ran  down  the  street  to  her 
neighbors,  and  as  she  ran  she  waved  it  above  her  head  and 
cried,  ''He's  saved!  He's  saved!"  That  cablegram  is 
framed,  and  hangs  upon  the  walls  of  their  beautiful  Euchd 
Avenue  home.  It  was  good  news  to  her  that  he  whom  she 
loved  was  saved. 

Good  news  I  bring  you.  Good  news  I  bring  you, 
people.  You  need  not  go  to  hell  if  you  will  accept  the  Christ 
that  I  preach  to  you. 

"What  shall  the  end  bc5  of  them  that  obey  not  the 
gospel?"  And  the  gospel  of  God  is,  "Repent  or  you  will 
go  to  hell."  "What  shall  the  end  be  of  them  that  obey  not 
the  gospel?  "  What  is  the  gospel,  and  what  is  it  to  obey  the 
gospel?  We  have  seen  that  it  is  good  news;  now  what  is  it 
to  obey?  What  was  it  for  Israel  to  obey?  Look  at  the 
brazen  serpent  on  the  pole.  What  was  it  for  Noah  to  obey? 
Build  the  ark  and  get  into  it.  What  was  it  for  Rahab  to 
obey?  Hang  a  scarlet  Une  out  of  the  window,  and  God 
would  pass  her  by  when  he  took  the  city  of  Jericho.  AU  that 
was  obeying.    It  was  believing  God's  message  and  obeying. 

Ah !  I  see  a  man.  He  walks  to  the  banks  of  the  Seine, 
in  Paris,  to  end  his  life.  He  walked  to  the  bank  four  times, 
but  he  didn't  plunge  in.  He  filled  a  cup  with  poison,  three 
times  raised  it  to  his  hps,  but  he  did  not  drink.  He  cocked 
the  pistol,  put  it  against  his  temple.  He  did  that  twice,  but 
he  didn't  pull  the  trigger.  He  heard  the  story  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  dropped  on  his  knees,  and  WiUiam  Cowper 
wrote: 

"God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way, 
His  wonders  to  perform; 
He  plants  his  footsteps  in  the  seas 
And  rides  upon  the  storm;  di\o/i  ^di  Odd  W 


ETERNITY!  ETERNITY!  391 

"There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood, 
Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins; 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood, 
Lose  all  their  guilty  strains," 

So  that's  what  you  found,  is  it,  Cowper? 

I  go  to  Bridgeport,  Connecticut.  I  rap  at  a  humble 
home  and  walk  into  the  presence  of  Fanny  J.  Crosby,  the 
bhnd  hymn-writer.  She  has  written  over  six  thousand 
hymns.  She  never  saw  the  Hght  of  day,  was  born  bhnd,  and 
I  say  to  her,  ''Oh,  Miss  Crosby,  tell  me  that  I  may  tell  the 
people  what  you  have  found  by  trusting  in  the  finished  work 
of  Jesus  Christ?  You  have  sat  in  darkness  for  ninety-four 
years;  tell  me.  Miss  Crosby."  And  that  face  fights  up  like 
a  halo  of  glory;  those  sightless  eyes  flash,  and  she  cries: 

"Blessed  assurance,  Jesus  is  mine; 
Oh,  what  a  foretaste  of  glory  divine!" 

"Pass  me  not,  O  gentle  Saviour, 
Hear  my  humble  cry!" 

"Jesus  keep  me  near  the  cross, 
There's  a  precious  foimtain." 

"Once  I  was  blind,  but  now  I  can  see. 
The  light  of  the  world  is  Jesus." 

"And  I  shall  see  Him,  face  to  face. 
And  tell  the  story,  Saved  by  Grace." 

I  go  to  Wesley  as  he  walks  along  the  banks  of  a  stream, 
while  the  storm  raged,  the  lightning  flashed  and  the  thunder 
roared.  The  birds  were  driven,  in  fright,  from  their  refuge 
in  the  boughs  of  the  trees.  A  fittle  bird  took  refuge  in  his 
coat.  Wesley  held  it  tenderly,  walked  home,  put  it  in  a  cage, 
kept  it  until  morning,  carried  it  out,  opened  the  door  and 
watched  it  as  it  circled  aroimd  and  shot  off  for  its  mountain 
home.    He  returned  to  his  house  and  wrote: 

"Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul, 
Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly." 


302 


ETERNITY!  ETERNITY! 


What  have  you  found  by  trusting  in  the  finished  work 
of  Jesus  Christ? 

God's  Word 

It  is  said  of  Na|)oleon  that  one  day  he  was  riding  in 
review  before  his  troops,  when  the  horse  upon  which  he  sat 
became  unmanageable,  seized  the  bit  in  his  teeth,  dashed  down 
the  road  and  the  life  of  the  famous  warrior  was  in  danger. 
A  private,  at  the  risk  of  his  Ufe,  leaped  out  and  seized  the 

runaway  horse, 
while  Napoleon,  out 
of  gratitude,  raised 
in  the  stirrups,  sa- 
luted and  said, 
"Thank  you,  cap- 
tain." The  man 
said,  "Captain  of 
what,  sir?"  "Cap- 
tain of  my  Ltfe 
Guards,  sir,"  snid 
he. 

The  man  step- 
ped over  to  where 
the  Life  Guards 
were  in  consultation 
and  they  ordered  him 
back  into  the  ranks. 
He  refused  to  go  and  issued  orders  to  the  officer  by  sa'^g, 
"I  am  Captain  of  the  Guards."  Thinking  him  insane,  they 
ordered  his  arrest  and  were  dragging  him  away,  when  Napo- 
leon rode  up  and  the  man  said,  "I  am  Captain  of  the  Guards 
because  the  Emperor  said  so."  And  Napoleon  arose  an<i  said, 
"Yes,  Captain  of  my  Life  Guards.  Loose  him,  sir;  loose 
him." 

I  am  a  Christian  because  God  says  so,  and  I  did  what  he 
told  me  to  do,  and  I  stand  on  God's  Word  and  if  that  book 
goes  down,  I'll  go  down  with  it.     If  God  goes  down,  t'U  go 


"Captain  of  Mt  Life  Guards,  Sir" 


ETERNITY!  ETERNITYl  393 

with  him,  and  if  there  were  any  other  kind  of  God,  except  that 
God,  I  would  have  been  shipwrecked  long  ago.  Twenty- 
seven  years  ago  in  Chicago  I  piled  all  I  had,  my  reputa- 
tion, my  character,  my  wife,  children,  home;  I  staked  my 
soul,  everything  I  had,  on  the  God  of  that  Bible,  and  the 
Christ  of  that  Bible,  and  I  won. 

"What  shall  the  end  be  of  them  that  obey  not  the 
gospel  of  God?"  Hear  me!  There  are  three  incomprehen- 
sibihties  to  me.  Don't  think  there  are  only  three  things 
I  don't  know,  or  don't  you  think  that  I  think  there  are  only 
three  things  I  don't  know.  I  say,  there  are  three  things  that 
I  cannot  comprehend. 

Eternity  and  Space 

First — ^Eternity;  that  something  away  off  yonder, 
somewhere.  You  will  thuik  it  will  end.  It  leads  on,  on,  on 
and  on.  I  can  take  a  bilUon,  I  can  subtract  a  million;  I 
can  take  a  million  or  a  biUion,  or  a  quadrillion,  or  a  septil- 
hon  of  years  from  eternity,  and  I  haven't  as  much  as  dis- 
turbed its  original  terms.  Minds  trained  to  deal  with 
intricate  problems  will  go  reehng  back  in  their  utter  inabihty 
to  comprehend  eternity. 

And  there  is  space.  When  you  go  out  tonight,  look  up 
at  the  moon,  240,000  miles  away.  Walking  forty  miles  a 
day,  I  could  reach  the  moon  in  seventeen  years,  but  the 
moon  is  one  of  our  near  neighbors.  Ah,  you  saw  the  sun 
today,  92,900,000  miles  away.  I  couldn't  walk  to  the  sun. 
If  I  could  charter  a  fast  train,  going  fifty  miles  an  hour,  it 
would  take  the  train  two  himdred  and  fifteen  years  to 
reach  the  sun. 

In  the  early  mom  you  will  see  a  star,  near  the  sun — 
Mercury — ^91,000,000  miles  away;  travels  around  the  sun 
once  in  eighty-eight  days,  going  at  the  speed  of  110,000  miles 
an  hour,  as  it  swings  in  its  orbit. 

Next  is  Venus;  she  is  beautiful;  160,000,000  miles  away, 
travels  around  the  sun  once  in  224  days,  going  at  the  rate  of 
79,000  miles  an  hour,  as  she  swings  in  her  orbit. 


394  ETERNITI'!  ETERNITY  J 

Then  comes  the  earth,  the  planet  upon  which  we  live, 
and  as  you  sit  there,  this  old  earth  travels  around  the  sun 
once  in  365  days,  or  one  calendar  year,  going  at  the  speed  of 
68,000  miles  an  hour,  and  as  you  sit  there  and  I  stand  here, 
this  old  planet  is  swinging  in  her  orbit  68,000  miles  an  hour, 
and  she  is  whirling  on  her  axis  nineteen  miles  a  second.  By 
force  of  gravity  we  are  held  from  falling  into  illimitable 
space. 

Yonder  is  Mars,  260,000,000  miles  away.  Travels 
around  the  sun  once  in  687  days,  or  about  two  years,  going 
at  the  speed  of  49,000  miles  an  hour.  Who  knows  but  that 
it  is  inhabited  by  a  race  unsulhed  by  sin,  untouched  by 
death? 

Yonder  another,  old  Jupiter,  champion  of  the  skies, 
sashed  and  belted  around  with  vapors  of  light.  Jupiter, 
480,000,000  miles  away,  travels  around  the  sun  once  in 
twelve  years,  going  at  the  speed  of  30,000  miles  an  hour. 
I  need  something  faster  than  an  express  train,  going  fifty 
miles  an  hoiu",  or  a  cyclone,  going  one  hundred  miles  an  hour. 
If  I  could  charter  a  Pullman  palace  car  and  couple  it  to  a 
ray  of  light,  which  travels  at  the  speed  of  192,000  miles  a 
second — if  I  could  attach  my  Pullman  palace  car  to  a  ray  of 
light,  I  could  go  to  Jupiter  and  get  back  tomorrow  morning 
for  breakfast  at  nine  o'clock,  but  Jupiter  is  one  of  our  near 
neighbors. 

Yonder  is  old  Saturn,  885,000,000  miles  away.  Travels 
around  the  sun  once  in  twenty  years,  going  at  the  speed  of 
21,000  miles  an  hour. 

Away  yonder,  I  catch  a  faint  glimmer  of  another  stu- 
pendous world,  as  it  swings  in  its  tireless  and  prodigious 
journey.  Old  Uranus,  1,780,000,000  miles  away.  Travels 
around  the  sun  once  in  eighty-four  years,  going  at  the  speed 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  an  hour. 

As  the  distance  of  the  planets  from  the  sun  increases, 
their  velocity  in  their  orbit  correspondingly  decreases. 

'■  'I  say  is  that  all?     I  hurry  to  Chicago  and  take  the 
Northwestern.     I  rush  out  to  Lake  Geneva,  Wisconsin,  I 


ETERNITY!  ETERNITY!  395 

climb  into  the  Yerkes  observatory,  and  I  turn  the  most 
ponderous  telescope  in  the  world  to  the  skies,  and  away  out 
on  the  frontier  of  the  universe,  on  the  very  outer  rim  of  the 
world,  I  catch  a  faint  glimmer  of  Neptune,  2,790,000,000 
miles  away.  Travels  aroimd  the  sun  once  in  one  hundred  and 
sixty-four  years,  going  at  the  speed  of  two  himdred  and  ten 
miles  an  hour.  If  I  could  step  on  the  deck  of  a  battleship 
and  aim  a  13-inch  gun,  and  that  projectile  will  travel  1,500 
miles  in  a  minute,  it  would  take  it  three  hundred  and  sixty 
years  to  reach  that  planet. 

Away  out  yonder  is  Alpha  Centauri.  If  I  would  attach 
my  palace  car  to  a  ray  of  light  and  go  at  the  speed  of  192,000 
miles  a  second,  it  would  take  me  three  years  to  reach  that 
planet.  An  express  train,  going  thirty  miles  an  hour,  would 
be  80,000,000  years  pulling  into  Union  depot  at  Alpha 
Centauri. 

Yonder,  the  Polar  or  the  North  star.  Traveling  at  a 
rate  of  speed  of  192,000  miles  a  second,  it  would  take  me 
forty-five  years  to  reach  that  planet.  And  if  I  would  go  to 
the  depot  and  buy  a  railroad  ticket  to  the  North  star,  and 
pay  three  cents  a  mile,  it  would  cost  me  $720,000,000  for 
railroad  fare  to  go  to  that  planet. 

"Oh,  God,  what  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him?" 
And  the  fool,  the  fool,  the  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart,  "There 
is  no  God."  I'm  not  an  infidel,  because  I  am  no  fool.  "The 
Heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God  and  the  firmament  showeth 
his  handiwork."  I  don't  beheve  an  infidel  ever  looked 
through  a  telescope  or  studied  astronomy. 

"What  is  man,  that  thou  are  mindful  of  him?"  These 
are  days  when  it  is  "Big  man,  little  God."  These  are  days 
when  it  is  gigantic  "I,"  and  pigmy  "God."  These  are  days 
when  it  is  "Ponderous  man,  infinitesimal  God." 

There  are  1,400,000  people  on  earth.  You  are  one  of 
that  number,  so  am  I.  None  of  us  amount  to  much.  What 
do  you  or  I  amount  to  out  of  1,400,000,000  people?  If  I 
could  take  an  auger  and  bore  a  hole  in  the  top  of  the  sun,  I 
could  pour  into  the  sun  1,400,000,000  worlds  the  size  of  the 


396  ETERNITY!  ETERNITYl 

planet  upon  which  we  Kve,  and  there  would  be  room  in  the 
sun  for  more.  Then  think  of  the  world,  and  God  made  that 
world,  the  God  that  you  cuss,  the  God  that  wants  to  keep  you 
out  of  hell,  the  God  whose  Son  you  have  trampled  beneath 
your  feet. 

If  you  take  1,400,000,000,  multiply  it  by  1,400,000, 
multiply  that  by  1,000,000,  multiply  that  by  millions,  multi- 
ply that  by  infinity,  that's  God.  If  you  take  1,400,000,000, 
subtract  1,400,000,  subtract  millions,  subtract,  subtract, 
subtract,  subtract  on  down,  that's  you.  If  ever  a  man  ap- 
pears like  a  consummate  ass  and  an  idiot,  it's  when  he  says 
he  don't  believe  in  a  God  or  tries  to  tell  God  his  plan  of 
redemption  don't  appeal  to  him. 

God's  Infinite  Love 

And  the  third :  The  third  is  the  love  of  God  to  a  lost  and 
sin-cursed  world  and  man's  indifference  to  God's  love. 
How  he  has  trampled  God's  love  beneath  his  feet,  I  don't 
understand.  I  don't  understand  why  you  have  grown 
gray-haired,  and  are  not  a  Christian.  I  don't  understand 
why  you  know  right  from  wrong,  and  still  are  not  a  Christian. 
I  don't  understand  it.  Listen !  What  is  it  to  obey  the  Gos- 
pel? The  Gospel  is  good  news,  and  to  obey  it  is  to  believe  in 
Jesus.  What  is  it  not  to  obey?  What  was  the  end  of  those 
who  weren't  in  the  ark  with  Noah?  They  found  a  watery 
grave.  What  was  the  end  of  those  who  didn't  look  at  the 
brazen  serpent  in  the  wilderness?  They  died.  What  was 
the  end  of  those  who  were  not  with  Rahab  when  she  hung  out 
the  scarlet  line?    They  perished. 

When  a  man  starts  on  a  journey  he  has  one  object  in 
view — the  end.  A  journey  is  well,  if  it  ends  well.  We  are 
all  on  a  journey  to  eternity.  What  will  be  the  end?  My 
text  doesn't  talk  about  the  present.  Your  present  is,  or 
may  be,  an  enviable  position  in  church,  club  life,  or  commer- 
cial life,  lodge,  pohtics;  your  presence  may  be  sought  after 
to  grace  every  social  gathering.  God  doesn't  care  about 
that.    What  shall  the  end  be?    When  all  that  is  gone,  when 


ETERNITY!  ETERNITY!  397 

pleasures  pass  away,  and  sorrow  and  weeping  and  wailing 
take  their  place,  what  shall  the  end  be?  . 

Some  people  deny  that  their  suffering  in  the  other  world 
will  be  eternal  fire.  Do  you  think  your  scoffs  can  extinguish 
the  flames  of  hell?  Do  you  think  you  can  annihilate  hell 
because  you  don't  beUeve  in  it?  We  have  a  few  people  who 
say,  "Matter  is  non-existent,"  but  that  doesn't  do  away  with 
the  fact  tiiat  matter  is  existent,  just  because  we  have  some 
people  who  haven't  sense  enough  to  see  it.  You  say,  "I 
don't  beUeve  there  is  a  hell."  WeU,  there  is,  whether  you 
believe  it  or  not.  You  say,  "I  don't  believe  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  Son  of  God."  Well,  he  is,  whether  you  beheve  it  or 
not.  Some  people  say,  "I  don't  believe  there  is  a  heaven." 
There  is,  whether  you  believe  it  or  not.  You  say,  "I  don't 
believe  the  Bible  is  the  Word  of  God."  Well,  it  is,  and  your 
disbeUef  does  not  change  the  fact,  and  the  sooner  you  wake  up 
to  that  the  better  for  you.  I  might  say  that  I  don't  beheve 
George  Washington  ever  lived.  I  never  saw  him,  but  it 
wouldn't  do  away  with  the  fact  that  he  did  five,  and  George 
Washington  lies  bm-ied  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac.  You 
say  you  don't  believe  there  is  a  hell,  but  that  doesn't  do  away 
with  the  fact  that  there  is  a  hell. 

What  difference  does  it  make  whether  the  fire  in  hell  is 
literal,  or  the  fittest  emblem  God  could  employ  to  describe 
to  us  the  terrible  pimishment?  Do  you  beheve  the  streets 
of  heaven  are  paved  with  literal  gold?  Do  you  believe  that? 
When  we  talk  about  gold  we  all  have  high  and  exalted  ideas. 
How  do  you  know  but  that  God  said  "streets  of  gold" 
in  order  to  convey  to  us  the  highest  ideal  our  minds  could 
conceive  of  beauty?  It  doesn't  make  any  difference  whether 
the  gold  on  the  streets  in  heaven  is  hteral  or  not.  What 
difference  does  it  make  whether  the  fire  in  hell  is  hteral  or 
not?  When  we  talk  about  fire  everybody  shrinks  from  it. 
Suppose  God  used  that  term  as  figurative  to  convey  to  you 
the  terror  of  hell.  You  are  a  fool  to  test  the  reahty  of  it. 
It  must  be  an  awful  place  if  God  loved  us  well  enough  to 
give  Jesus  to  keep  us  out  of  there.    I  don't  want  to  go  there. 


398  ETERNITY!  ETERNITY K 

Preparing  for  Eternity 

I  said  to  a  fellow  one  time,  "Don't  you  think  that  pos- 
sibly there  is  a  hell?" 

He  said,  ''Well,  yes,  possibly  there  may  be  a  hell." 

I  said,  "It's  pretty  good  sense,  then,  to  get  ready  for  the 
maybe."  Well,  just  suppose  there  is  a  hell.  It's  good  sense 
to  get  ready,  them,  even  for  the  "maybe."  I  don't  look  like 
a  man  that  would  die  very  quickly,  do  I?  I  have  just  as 
good  a  physique  as  you  ever  gazed  at.  I  wouldn't  trade  with 
any  man  I  know.  A  lot  of  you  fellows  are  stronger  than  I, 
but  I  have  as  good  a  physique  as  ever  you  looked  at.  I  have 
been  preaching  at  this  pace  for  fourteen  years,  and  I've  stood 
it,  although  I  begin  to  feel  myself  failing  a  httle  bit.  But  I 
don't  look  like  a  man  who  would  die  quickly,  do  I?  But  I 
may  die,  and  on  that  possibihty  I  carry  thousands  of  dollars 
of  Ufe  insurance.  I  don't  believe  that  any  man  does  right 
to  himself,  his  wife  or  his  children  if  he  doesn't  provide  for 
them  with  life  insurance,  so  when  he  is  gone  they  will  not  be 
thrown  upon  the  charity  of  the  world.  And  next  to  my  faith, 
if  I  should  die  tonight,  that  which  would  give  me  the  most 
comfort  would  be  the  knowledge  that  I  have  in  a  safe  deposit 
vault  in  Chicago  life  insm'ance  papers,  paid  up  to  date,  and 
my  wife  could  cash  in  and  she  and  the  babies  could  listen  to 
the  wolves  howl  for  a  good  many  years.  I  don't  expect  to 
die  soon,  but  I  may  die,  and  on  that  "may"  I  carry  thousands 
of  dollars  in  hfe  insurance. 

I  take  a  train  to  go  home,  I  don't  expect  the  train  to  be 
wrecked,  but  it  may  be  wrecked,  and  on  that  "maybe" 
I  carry  $10,000  a  year  in  an  accident  pohcy.  It  may  go  in 
the  ditch.  That's  good  sense  to  get  ready  for  the  "maybe." 
Are  you  a  business  man?  Do  you  carry  insurance  on  your 
stock?  Yes.  On  the  building?  Yes.  Do  you  expect  it  to 
burn?  No,  sir.  But  it  may  burn,  so  you  are  ready  for  it. 
Every  ship  is  compelled,  by  law,  to  carry  life-preservers 
and  life-boats  equal  to  the  passenger  capacity.  They  don't 
expecft  the  ship  to  sink,  but  it  may  sink  and  they  are  ready 
for  the  "may."    All  right    There  may  be  a  hell.    I'm  ready; 


ETERNITY!  ETERNITY  I  399 

where  do  you  get  off  at?  I  have  you  beat  any  way  you  can 
look  at  it. 

Suppose  there  is  no  hell?  Suppose  that  when  we  die 
that  ends  it?  I  don't  beheve  it  does.  I  beUeve  there  is  a 
hell  and  I  believe  there  is  a  heaven,  and  just  the  kind  of  a 
heaven  and  hell  that  book  says.  But  suppose  there  is  no 
hell?  Suppose  death  is  eternal  sleep?  I  beUeve  the  Bible;  I 
beUeve  its  teachings;  I  have  the  best  of  you  in  this  life.  I 
will  Uve  longer,  be  happier,  and  have  lost  nothing  by  beUev- 
ing  and  obeying  the  Bible,  even  if  there  is  no  hell.  But 
suppose  there  is  a  hell?  Then  I'm  saved  and  you  are  the 
fool.    I  have  you  beat  again. 

''What  shall  the  end  be  of  them  that  obey  not  the 
gospel  of  God."  What  will  some  do?  Some  will  be  stoical, 
some  will  whimper,  some  will  turn  for  huriian  sympathy. 
Let  God  answer  the  question.  You  would  quarrel  with  me. 
"A  lake  of  fire"  and  "a  furnace  of  fire."  ''In  hell  he  lifted  up 
his  eyes,  being  in  torment."  "Eternal  damnation."  "The 
smoke  of  their  torment  ascendeth  forever  and  ever."  Let 
God  answer  the  question.  ""WTiat  shall  be  the  end  of  them 
that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  God"?  Will  you  say,  "God,  I 
didn't  have  time  enough "?  "Behold !  Now  is  the  accepted 
time."  Will  you  say,  "God,  I  had  no  light? "  But  "light  is 
come  into  the  world,  and  men  love  darkness  rather  than 
light." 

I  stand  on  the  shores  of  eternity  and  cry  out,  "Eternity! 
Eternity!  How  long,  how  long  art  thou?"  Back  comes  the 
answer,  "How  long?" 

"How  long  sometimes  a  day  appears  and  weeks,  how  long  are  they? 
They  move  as  if  the  months  and  years  would  never  pass  away; 
But  months  and  years  are  passing  by,  and  soon  must  all  be  gone, 
Day  by  day,  as  the  moments  fly,  eternity  comes  on. 
All  these  must  have  an  end;  eternity  has  none. 
It  will  always  have  as  long  to  run  as  when  it  first  begun." 

"What  shall  be  the  end  of  them  that  obey  not  the 
Gospel  of  God?" 


400  ETERNITY!  ETERNITY! 

When  Voltaire,  the  famous  infidel,  lay  dying,  he  sum- 
moned the  physician  and  said,  "Doctor,  I  will  give  you  all 
I  have  to  save  my  life  six  months." 

The  doctor  said,  "You  can't  Uve  six  hours." 
Then  said  Voltaire,  "I'll  go  to  hell  and  you'll  go  with 
me." 

A  Leap  in  the  Dark 

Hobbes,  the  famous  English  infidel,  said:  "I  am  taking 
a  leap  into  the  night." 

When  King  Charles  IX,  who  gave  the  order  for  the 
massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's  day,  when  blood  ran  like 
water  and  130,000  fell  dead,  when  King  Charles  lay  dying,  he 
cried  out,  "O  God,  how  will  it  end?  Blood,  blood,  rivers  of 
blood.     I  am  lost!"    And  with  a  shriek  he  leaped  into  hell. 

King  PhiUp  of  Spain  said;  "I  wish  to  God  I  had  never 
lived,"  and  then  in  a  sober  thought  he  said:  "Yes,  I  wish  I 
had,  but  that  I  had  lived  in  the  fear  and  love  of  God." 

Wesley  said,  "I  shall  be  satisfied  when  I  awake  in  His 
likeness." 

Florence  A.  Foster  said,  "Mother,  the  hilltops  are 
covered  with  angels;  they  beckon  me  homeward;  I  bid  you 
good-bye." 

Frances  E.  Willard  cried,  "How  beautiful  to  die  and  be 
with  God." 

Moody  cried:  "Earth  recedes,  heaven  opens,  God  is 
calling  me.    This  is  to  be  my  coronation  day." 

Going  to  the  World's  Fair  in  Chicago,  a  special  train  on 
the  Grand  Trunk,  going  forty  miles  an  hour,  dashed  around 
a  curve  at  Battle  Creek,  and  headed  in  on  a  sidetrack  where 
a  freight  train  stood.  The  rear  brakeman  had  forgotten  to 
close  the  switch  and  the  train  rounded  the  curve,  dashed  into 
the  open  switch  and  struck  the  freight  train  loaded  with 
iron,  and  there  was  an  awful  wreck.  The  cars  telescoped  and 
the  flames  rushed  out.  Pinioned  in  the  wreck,  with  steel 
girders  bent  around  her,  was  a  woman  who  lived  in  New 
York.     Her  name  was  Mrs.  Van  Dusen.     She  removed  her 


ETERNITY  1  ETERNITY!  401 

diamond  ear-rings,  took  her  gold  watch  and  chain  from  about 
her  neck,  slipped  her  rings  from  her  fingers  and  handing 
out  her  pm-se  gave  her  husband's  address,  and  then  said: 
"Gentlemen,  stand  back!  I  am  a  Christian  and  I  will  die 
like  a  Christian." 

They  leaped  to  their  task.  They  tore  like  demons  to 
liberate  her  and  she  started  to  sing, 

"  My  heavenly  home  is  brightand  fair. 
I'm  going  to  die  no  more." 

Strong  men,  who  had  looked  into  the  cannon's  mouth, 
fainted.  She  cried  out,  above  the  roar  of  the  wind  and  the 
shrieks  of  the  dying  men,  "Oh,  men,  don't  imperil  your  lives 
for  me.  I  am  a  Christian  and  I  will  die  like  a  Christian! 
Stand  back,  men,"  and  then  she  began  to  sing,  "Nearer,  My 
God,  to  Thee." 

"  The  End  Thereof  " 

"There  is  a  way  that  seemeth  right  unto  man,  but  the 
end  thereof  are  the  ways  of  death."  Moses  may  have  made 
some  mistakes,  but  I  want  to  tell  you  Moses  never  made  a 
mistake  when  he  wrote  these  words:  "Their  rock  is  not  as 
our  Rock,  even  our  enemies  themselves  being  the  judges. ' ' 
He  never  made  a  mistake  when  he  wrote  these  words.  I  say  to 
you,  you  are  going  to  live  on  and  on  until  the  constellations 
of  the  heavens  are  snuffed  out.  You  are  going  to  live  on  and 
on  until  the  rocks  crumble  into  dust  through  age.  You  are 
going  to  Uve  on  and  on  and  on,  until  the  mountain  peaks  are 
incinerated  and  blown  by  the' breath  of  God  to  tlie  four 
comers  of  infinity.  "What  shall  the  end  be?"  Listen! 
Listen ! 

I  used  to  live  in  Pennsylvania,  and  of  the  many  wonder- 
ful things  for  which  this  wonderful  state  has  been  noted, 
not  the  least  is  the  fact  that  most  always  she  has  had  godly 
men  for  governors,  and  one  of  the  most  magnificent  examples 
of  godly  piety  that  ever  honored  this  state  was  Governor 


402  ETERNITYI  ETERNITY! 

Pollock.  When  he  was  governor,  a  young  man,  in  a  drunken 
brawl,  shot  a  companion.  He  was  tried  and  sentenced  to  be 
executed.  They  circulated  a  petition,  brought  it  to  Harris- 
burg  to  the  governor,  and  the  committee  that  waited  upon 
the  governor,  among  them  some  of  his  own  friends,  pleaded 
with  him  to  commute  the  sentence  to  life  imprisoment. 
Governor  Pollock  listened  to  their  pleadings  and  said, 
"Gentlemen,  I  can't  do  it.  The  law  must  take  its  course." 
Then  the  ministers — CathoUc  and  Protestant — brought  a 
petition,  and  among  the  committee  was  the  governor's  own 
pastor.  He  approached  him  in  earnestness,  put  a  hand  on 
either  shoulder,  begged,  prayed  to  God  to  give  him  wisdom 
to  grant  the  request.  Governor  Pollock  listened  to  their 
petition,  tears  streamed  down  his  cheeks  and  he  said, 
"Gentlemen,  I  can't  do  it.    I  can't;  I  can't." 

At  last  the  boy's  mother  came.  Her  eyes  were  red,  her 
cheeks  sunken,  her  Ups  ashen,  her  hair  disheveled,  her  cloth- 
ing unkempt,  her  body  tottering  from  the  loss  of  food  and 
sleep.  Broken-hearted,  she  reeled,  staggered  and  dragged 
herself  into  the  presence  of  the  governor.  She  pleaded  for 
her  boy.  She  said, "  Oh,  governor,  let  me  die.  Oh,  governor, 
let  him  go;  let  me  behind  the  bars.  Oh,  governor,  I  beg  of 
you  to  let  my  boy  go;  don't,  don't  hang  him!"  And  Gover- 
nor Pollock  Ustened.  She  staggered  to  his  side,  put  her 
arms  around  him.  He  took  her  arms  from  his  shoulder,  held 
her  at  arms'  length,  looked  into  her  face  and  said  to  her: 
"Mother,  mother,  I  can't  do  it,  I  can't,"  and  he  ran  from  her 
presence.  She  screamed  and  fell  to  the  floor  and  they 
carried  her  out. 

Governor  Pollock  said  to  his  secretary,  "John,  if  I  can't 
pardon  him  I  can  tell  him  how  to  die."  He  went  to  the  cell, 
opened  God's  Word,  prayed,  talked  of  Jesus.  Heaven  bent 
near,  the  angels  waited,  and  then  on  lightning  wing  sped 
back  to  glory  with  the  glad  tidings  that  a  soul  was  bom 
again.  And  the  governor  left,  wishing  him  well  for  the 
ordeal.  Shortly  after  he  had  gone,  the  prisoner  said  to  the 
watchman,  "Who  was  that  man  that  talked  and  prayed  with 


ETERNITY!  ETERNITY  1  403 

me?"  He  said,  "Great  God,  man,  don't  you  know?  That 
was  Governor  Pollock."  He  threw  his  hands  to  his  head  and 
cried:  "My  God!  My  God!  The  governor  here  and  I 
didn't  know  it?  Why  didn't  you  tell  me  that  was  the 
governor  and  I  would  have  thrown  my  arms  about  him, 
bm"ied  my  fingers  in  his  flesh  and  would  have  said,  'Gover- 
nor, I'll  not  let  you  go  unless  you  pardon  me;  I'll  not  let 
you  go. '  "  A  few  days  later,  when  he  stood  at  the  scaffold, 
feet  strapped,  hands  tied,  noose  about  his  neck,  black  cap  and 
shroud  on,  just  before  the  trap  was  sprung  he  cried,  "My 
God!    The  governor  there  and  I  — "    He  shot  down. 

You  can't  stand  before  God  in  the  Judgment  and  say, 
"Jesus,  were  you  down  there  in  the  tabernacle?  In  my  home? 
In  my  lodge?  Did  you  want  to  save  me?"  Behold!  Be- 
hold! A  greater  than  the  governor  is  here.  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God,  and  he  waits  to  be  gracious. 

"What  shall  the  end  be  of  them  that  obey  not  the 
gospel  of  God?" 


CHAFIER  XXXI 
Our  Long  Home 

Don't  let  God  hang  a  "For  Rent"  sign  on  the  mansion  that  hae  beer 
prepared  for  you  in  heaven. — Billy  Sunday. 

VIVID,  literal  and  comforting,  is  Sunday^s  portrayal 
of  the  Christian's  long  home.  He  is  one  of  the 
few  preachers  who  depict  heaven  so  that  it  minis- 
ters to  earth.  Countless  thousands  of  Christians  have 
been  comforted  by  his  reaUstic  pictures  of  "the  land  that  is 
fairer  than  day." 

"  HEAVEN »» 

What  do  I  want  most  of  all?  A  man  in  Chicago  said 
to* me  one  day,  "If  I  could  have  all  I  wanted  of  any  one  thing 
I  would  take  money."  He  would  be  a  fool,  and  so  would 
you  if  you  would  make  a  similar  choice.  There's  lots  of 
things  money  can't  do.  Money  can't  buy  life;  money  can't 
buy  health.  Andrew  Carnegie  says,  "Anyone  who  can 
assiu'e  men  ten  years  of  life  can  name  his  price." 

If  you  should  meet  with  an  accident  which  would 
require  a  surgical  operation  or  your  life  would  be  despaired 
of,  there  is  not  a  man  here  but  would  gladly  part  with 
all  the  money  he  has  if  that  would  give  him  the  assurance 
that  he  could  live  twelve  months  longer. 

If  you  had  all  the  money  in  the  world  you  couldn't 
go  to  the  graveyard  and  put  those  loved  ones  back  in  your 
arms  and  have  them  sit  once  more  in  the  family  circle  and 
hear  their  voices  and  hsten  to  their  prattle. 

A  steamer  tied  up  at  her  wharf,  having  just  returned 
from  an  expedition,  and  as  the  people  walked  down  the  plank 
their  friends  met  them  to  congratulate  them  on  their  success 
or  encoiu-age  them  through  their  defeat.  Down  came  a 
man  I  used  to  know  in  Fargo,  S.  D.     Friends  rushed 


f'HAl  HaI  Old  Skeptic,  I've  got  You  Beat." 


OUR  LONG  HOME  405 

up  and  said,  "Why,  we  hear  that  you  were  very  for- 
tunate." 

"Yes,  wife  and  I  left  here  six  months  ago  with  hardly 
anything.  Now  we  have  $350,000  in  gold  dust  in  the  hold 
of  the  ship." 

Then  somebody  looked  around  and  said,  "Mr.  L , 

where  is  your  httle  boy?" 

The  tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks  and  he  said,  "We  left 
him  buried  on  the  banks  of  the  Yukon  beneath  the  snow 
and  ice,  and  we  would  gladly  part  with  all  the  gold,  if  we 
only  had  our  boy." 

But  all  the  wealth  of  the  Klondike  could  not  open  the 
grave  and  put  that  child  back  in  their  arms.  Money  can't 
buy  the  peace  of  God  that  passeth  understanding.  Money 
can't  take  the  sin  out  of  your  life. 

Is  there  any  particular  kind  of  Ufe  you  would  Uke? 
If  you  could  live  one  hundred  years  you  wouldn't  want  to 
die,  would  you?  I  wouldn't.  I  think  there  is  always  some- 
thing the  matter  with  a  fellow  that  wants  to  die.  I  want  to 
stay  as  long  as  God  will  let  me  stay,  but  when  God's  time 
comes  for  me  to  go  I'm  ready,  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night. 
God  can  waken  me  at  midnight  or  in  the  morning  and  I'm 
ready  to  respond.  But  if  I  could  hve  a  million  years  I'd 
like  to  stay.  I  don't  want  to  die.  I'm  having  a  good  time. 
God  made  this  world  for  us  to  have  a  good  time  in.  It's 
nothing  but  sin  that  has  damned  the  world  and  brought  it 
to  misery  and  corruption.  God  wants  you  to  have  a  good 
time.  Well,  then,  how  can  I  get  this  life  that  you  want 
and  everybody  wants,  eternal  Ufe? 

If  you  are  ill  the  most  natural  thing  for  you  to  do  is  to 
go  for  your  doctor.  You  say,  "I  don't  want  to  die.  Can 
you  help  me?" 

He  looks  at  you  and  says,  "I  have  a  hundred  patients 
on  my  hands,  all  asking  the  same  thing.  Not  one  of  them 
wants  to  die.  They  ask  me  to  use  my  skill  and  bring  to 
bear  all  I  have  learned,  but  I  can't  fight  back  death.  I  can 
prescribe  for  your  malady,  but  I  can't  prevent  death." 


406  OUR  LONG  HOME 

« I,  Too,  Must  Die" 

Well,  go  to  your  philosopher.  He  it  is  that  reasons 
out  the  problems  and  mysteries  of  Ufe  by  the  application 
of  reason.  Say  to  him,  "Good  philosopher,  I  have  come  to 
you  for  help.  I  want  to  live  forever  and  you  say  that 
you  have  the  touch-stone  of  philosophy  and  that  you  can 
describe  and  solve.    Can  you  help  me?" 

He  says  to  you,  "Young  man,  my  hair  and  my  beard 
have  grown  longer  and  as  white  as  snow,  my  eyes  are  dim, 
my  brows  are  wrinkled,  my  form  bent  with  the  weight 
of  years,  my  bones  are  brittle  and  I  am  just  as  far  from 
the  solution  of  that  mystery  and  problem  as  when  I  started. 
I,  too,  sir,  must  soon  die  and  sleep  beneath  the  sod." 

In  my  imagination  I  have  stood  by  the  bedside  of 
the  dying  Pullman-palace-car  magnate,  George  M.  Pull- 
man, whose  will  was  probated  at  $25,000,000,  and  I  have 
said,  "Oh,  Mr.  Pullman,  you  will  not  die,  you  can  bribe 
death."  And  I  see  the  pupils  of  his  eyes  dilate,  his  breast 
heaves,  he  gasps — and  is  no  more.  The  imdertaker  comes 
and  makes  an  incision  in  his  left  arm,  pumps  in  the  embalm- 
ing fluid,  beneath  whose  mysterious  power  he  turns  as  rigid 
as  ice,  and  as  white  as  alabaster,  and  they  put  his  em- 
balmed body  in  the  rosewood  coffin,  trimmed  with  silver 
and  gold,  and  then  they  put  that  in  a  hermetically 
sealed  casket. 

The  grave-diggers  go  to  Graceland  Cemetery,  on  the 
shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  dig  his  grave  in  the  old  family 
lot,  nine  feet  wide,  and  they  put  in  there  Portland  cement 
four  and  a  half  feet  thick,  while  it  is  yet  soft,  pUable  and 
plastic.  A  set  of  workmen  drop  down  into  the  grave  a 
steel  cage  with  steel  bars  one  inch  apart.  They  bring 
his  body,  in  the  hermetically  sealed  casket  all  wrapped 
about  with  cloth,  and  they  lower  it  into  the  steel  cage, 
and  a  set  of  workmen  put  steel  bars  across  the  top  and 
another  put  concrete  and  a  solid  wall  of  masonry  and  they 
bring  it  up  within  eighteen  inches  of  the  surface;  they 
out  back  tie  black  loamy  soil,  then  they  roll  back  the  sod 


.     OUR  LONG  HOME  407 

aaod  with  a  whisk  broom  and  dust  pan  they  sweep  up  the 
dirt,  and  you  would  never  know  that  there  sleeps  the 
Pullman-palace-car  magnate,  waiting  for  the  trumpet  of 
Gabriel  to  sound;  for  the  powers  of  God  will  snap  his 
steel,  cemented  sarcophagus  as  though  it  were  made  of 
a  shell  and  he  will  stand  before  God  as  any  other  man. 

What  does  your  money  amount  to?  What  does  your 
wealth  amount  to? 

I  summon  the  three  electrical  wizards  of  the  world 
to  my  bedside  and  I  say,  "Gentlemen,  I  want  to  live  and 
I  have  sent  for  you  to  come,"  and  they  say  to  me,  "Mr. 
Sunday,  we  will  flash  messages  across  the  sea  without 
wires;  we  can  illuminate  the  homes  and  streets  of  your 
city  and  drive  your  trolley  cars  and  we  can  kill  men  with 
electricity,  but  we  can't  prolong  life." 

And  I  summon  the  great  Queen  Elizabeth,  queen  of 
an  empire  upon  which  the  sun  never  sets.  Three  thousand 
dresses  hung  in  her  wardrobe.  Her  jewels  were  measured 
by  the  peck.  Dukes,  kings,  earls  fought  for  her  smiles. 
I  stand  by  her  bedside  and  I  hear  her  cry  "All  my  posses- 
sions for  one  moment  of  time!" 

I  go  to  Alexander  the  Great,  who  won  his  first  battle 
when  he  was  eighteen,  and  was  King  of  Macedonia  when 
he  was  twenty.  He  sat  down  on  the  shore  of  the  ^gean 
sea,  wrapped  the  drapery  of  his  couch  about  him  and  lay 
down  to  eternal  sleep,  the  conqueror  of  all  the  known 
world,  when  he  was  thirty-five  years  of  age. 

I  go  to  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  Victor  Hugo  called  him 
the  archangel  of  war.  He  arose  in  the  air  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  like  a  meteor.  His  sun  rose  at  AusterHtz; 
it  set  at  Waterloo.  He  leaped  over  the  slain  of  his  countrymen 
to  be  first  consul;  and  then  he  vaulted  to  the  throne  of  the 
emperor  of  France.  But  it  was  the  cruel  wanton  achievement 
of  insatiate  and  imsanctified  ambition  and  it  led  to  the  barren 
St.  Helena  isle.  As  the  storm  beat  upon  the  rock,  once 
more  he  fought  at  the  head  of  his  troops  at  AusterUtz,  at 
Mt.  Tabor,  and  the  Pyramids.     Once  more  he  cried,  "I'm 


408  OUR  LONG  HOME     , 

still  the  head  of  the  army,"  and  he  fell  back,  and  the 
greatest  warrior  the  world  has  known  since  the  days  of 
Joshua,  was  no  more.  Tonight  on  the  banks  of  the  Seine 
he  Ues  in  his  inagnificent  tomb,  with  his  marshals  sleeping 
where  he  can  summon  them,  and  the  battle  flags  he  made 
famous  draped  around  him,  and  from  the  four  comers  of 
the  earth  students  and  travelers  turn  aside  to  do  homage 
to  the  great  miUtary  genius. 

I  want  to  show  you  the  absolute  and  utter  futihty  of 
pioning  your  hope  to  a  lot  of  fool  things  that  will  damn 
your  soul  to  hell.  There  is  only  one  way:  "As  Moses 
lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the 
Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life.  For  God  so  loved 
the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whoso- 
ever believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  ever- 
lasting life."  Search  the  annals  of  time  and  the  pages  of 
history  and  where  do  you  find  promises  Hke  that?  Only 
upon  the  pages  of  the  Bible  do  you  find  them. 

You  want  to  live  and  so  do  I.  You  want  eternal 
life  and  so  do  I,  and  I  want  you  to  have  it.  The  next 
question  I  want  to  ask  is,  how  can  you  get  it?  You  have 
seen  things  that  won't  give  it  to  you.  How  can  you  get 
it?  All  you  have  tonight  or  ever  will  have  you  will  come 
into  possession  of  in  one  of  three  ways — ^honestly,  dishon- 
estly, or  as  a  gift.  Honestly:  You  wiU  work  and  sweat  and 
therefore  give  an  honest  equivalent  for  what  you  get.  Dis- 
honestly: You  will  steal.  Third,  as  a  gift,  you  will  inherit 
it.  And  eternal  life  must  come  to  you  in  one  of  these 
three  ways. 

No  Substitute  for  Religion 

A  great  many  people  believe  in  a  high  moral  standard. 
They  deal  honestly  in  business  and  are  charitable,  but  if 
you  think  that  is  going  to  save  you,  you  are  the  most  mis- 
take man  on  God's  earth,  and  you  will  be  the  biggest  dis- 
appointed being  that  ever  lived.     You  can't  hire  a  sub- 


Oim  LONG  HOME  409 

stitute  in  religion.  You  can't  do  some  deed  of  kindness 
or  act  of  philanthropy  and  substitute  that  for  the  necessity 
of  repentance  and  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  Lots  of  people 
will  acknowledge  their  sin  in  the  world,  struggle  on  with- 
out Jesus  Christ,  and  do  their  best  to  live  honorable,  up- 
right hves.  Your  morahty  will  make  you  a  better  man 
or  woman,  but  it  will  never  save  your  soul  in  the  world. 

Supposing  you  had  an  apple  tree  that  produced  sour 
apples  and  you  wanted  to  change  the  nature  of  it,  and 
you  would  ask  the  advice  of  people.  One  would  say 
prune  it,  and  you  would  buy  a  priming  hook  and  cut  off 
the  superfluous  limbs.  You  gather  the  apples  and  they 
are  still  sour.  Another  man  says  to  fertiUze  it,  and  you 
fertiUze  it  and  still  it  doesn't  change  the  nature  of  it. 
Another  man  says  spray  it  to  kill  the  caterpillars,  but  the 
apples  are  sour  just  the  same.  Another  man  says  intro- 
duce a  graft  of  another  variety. 

When  I  was  a  httle  boy,  one  day  my  grandfather 
said  to  me:  "WiUie,  come  on,"  and  he  took  a  ladder,  and 
beeswax,  a  big  jackknife,  a  saw  and  some  cloth,  and  we 
went  into  the  valley.  He  leaned  the  ladder  against  a  sour 
crab-apple  tree,  climbed  up  and  sawed  off  some  of  the  limbs, 
spUt  them  and  shoved  in  them  some  little  pear  sprouts 
as  big  as  my  finger  and  twice  as  long,  and  aroimd  them 
he  tied  a  string  and  put  in  some  beeswax.  I  said,  "Grandpa, 
what  are  you  doing?"  He  said,  ''I'm  grafting  pear  sprouts 
into  the  sour  crab."  I  said,  ''What  will  grow,  crab  apples 
or  pears?"  He  said,  "Pears;  I  don't  know  that  I'll  ever 
five  to  eat  the  pear — ^I  hope  I  may — ^but  I  know  you  will." 
I  lived  to  see  those  sprouts  which  were  no  longer  than  my 
finger  grow  as  large  as  any  limb  and  I  climbed  the  tree 
and  picked  and  ate  the  pears.  He  introduced  a  graft  of 
another  variety  and  that  changed  the  nature  of  the  tree. 

And  so  you  can't  change  yourself  with  books.  That 
which  is  flesh  is  flesh,  no  matter  whether  it  is  cultivated 
flesh,  or  ignorant  flesh  or  common,  ordinary  flesh.  That 
which  is  flesh  is  flesh,  and  all  your  lodges,  all  your  money 


410  OUR  LONG  HOME 

on  God  Almighty's  earth  can  never  change  your  nature. 
Never.  That's  got  to  come  by  and  through  repentance 
and  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  That's  the  only  way  you  will 
ever  get  it  changed.  We  have  more  people  with  fool  ways 
trying  to  get  into  heaven,  and  there's  only  one  way  to  do 
and  that  is  by  and  through  repentance  and  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ. 

Here  are  two  men.  One  man  bom  with  hereditary 
tendencies  toward  bad,  a  bad  father,  a  bad  mother  and 
bad  grandparents.  He  has  bad  blood  in  his  veins  and  he 
turns  as  naturally  to  sin  as  a  duck  to  water.  There  he  is, 
down  and  out,  a  booze  fighter  and  the  off-scouring  scum 
of  the  earth.  I  go  to  him  in  his  squalor  and  want  and 
unhappiness,  and  say  to  him:  "God  has  included  all  that 
sin  that  he  may  have  mercy  on  all.  All  have  sinned  and 
come  short  of  the  glory  of  God.  Will  you  accept  Jesus 
Christ  as  your  Saviour?" 

"Whosoever  cometh  unto  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out,"  and  that  man  says  to  me,  "No,  I  don't  want  your 
Christ  as  my  Saviour." 

Here  is  a  man  with  hereditary  tendencies  toward  good, 
a  good  father,  a  good  mother,  good  grandparents,  Uved  in 
a  good  neighborhood,  was  taught  to  go  to  Sunday  school 
and  has  grown  up  to  be  a  good,  earnest,  upright,  virtuous, 
responsible  business  man;  his  name  is  synonymous  with 
all  that  is  pure  and  kind,  and  true.  His  name  is  as  good 
as  a  government  bond  at  any  bank  for  a  reasonable  amount. 
Everybody  respects  him.  He  is  generous,  charitable  and 
kind.  I  go  to  your  high-toned,  cultured,  respectable  man 
and  say  to  him:  "God  hath  included  all  under  sin  that 
he  might  have  mercy  upon  all.  All  have  sinned  and 
come  short  of  the  glory  of  God.  Whosoever  cometh  imto 
me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.  Will  you  accept  Jesus  Christ 
as  your  Saviom*?  Will  you  give  me  your  hand?"  He  says: 
"No,  sir;  I  don't  want  your  Christ." 

What's  the  difference  between  those  two  men?  Abso- 
lutely none.     They  are  both  lost.     Both  are  going  to  hell. 


OUR  LONG  HOME  411 

God  hasn't  one  way  of  saving  the  one  and  another  way  of 
saving  the  other  fellow.  God  will  save  that  man  if  he 
accepts  Christ  and  he  will  do  the  same  for  the  other  fellow. 
That  man  is  a  sinner  and  this  man  is  a  sinner.  That  man 
is  lower  in  sin  than  this  man,  but  they  both  say,  "No" 
to  Jesus  Christ  and  they  are  both  lost  or  God  is  a  liar. 

You  don't  like  it?  I  don't  care  a  rap  whether  you 
do  or  not.  You'll  take  it  or  go  to  hell.  Stop  doing  what 
you  think  will  save  you  and  do  what  God  says  will  save 
you. 

Morality  Not  Enough 

Morality  doesn't  save  anybody.  Your  culture  doesn't 
save  you.  I  don't  care  who  you  are  or  how  good  you  are, 
if  you  reject  Jesus  Christ  you  are  doomed.  God  hasn't 
one  plan  of  salvation  for  the  milUonaire  and  another  for 
the  hobo.  He  has  the  same  plan  for  everybody.  God 
isn't  going  to  ask  you  whether  you  like  it  or  not,  either. 
He  isn't  going  to  ask  you  your  opinion  of  his  plan.  There 
it  is  and  we'll  have  to  take  it  as  God  gives  it. 

You  come  across  a  lot  of  fools  who  say  there  are  hypo- 
crites in  the  Church.  What  difference  does  that  make? 
Are  you  the  first  person  that  has  found  that  out  and  are 
you  fool  enough  to  go  to  hell  because  they  are  going  to 
hell?  If  you  are,  don't  come  to  me  and  expect  me  to 
think  you  have  any  sense.     Not  at  all.     Not  for  a  minute. 

A  good  many  people  attend  church  because  it  adds 
a  little  bit  to  their  respectabiUty.  That  is  proof  positive 
to  me  that  the  Gospel  is  a  good  thing.  This  is  a  day 
when  good  things  are  counterfeited.  You  never  saw  any- 
body counterfeiting  brown  paper.  No,  it  isn't  worth  it. 
You  have  seen  them  counterfeiting  Christians?  Yes.  You 
have  seen  counterfeit  money?  Yes.  You  never  saw  a 
counterfeit  infidel.  They  counterfeit  reUgion.  Certainly. 
A  hypocrite  is  a  counterfeit. 

But  there  is  one  class  of  these  people  that  I  haven't 
very  much  respect  for.     They  are  so  good,  so  very  good, 


412  OUR  LONG  HOME 

that  they  are  absolutely  good  for  nothing.  A  woman 
came  to  me  and  said:  "Mr.  Sunday,  I  haven't  sinned  in 
ten  years." 

I  said:  "You  lie,  I  think." 

Well,  a  man  says:  "Look  here,  there  must  be  some- 
thing in  morality,  because  so  many  people  trust  in  it." 
Would  vice  become  virtue  because  more  people  follow  it? 
Simply  because  more  people  follow  it  doesn't  make  a 
wrong  right;  not  at  all. 

The  Way  of  Salvation 

There  was  an  old  Spaniard,  Ponce  de  Leon,  who 
searched  through  the  glades  of  Florida.  He  thought  away 
out  there  in  the  midst  of  the  tropical  vegetation  was  a 
fountain  of  perpetual  youth,  which,  if  he  could  only  find 
and  dip  beneath  its  water  would  smooth  the  wrinkles  from 
his  brow  and  make  his  gray  hair  turn  lilce  the  raven's 
wing.  Did  he  ever  find  it?  No,  it  never  existed.  It 
was  all  imagination.  And  there  are  people  today  search- 
ing for  something  that  doesn't  exist.  Salvation  doesn't 
exist  in  moraUty,  in  reformation,  in  paying  your  debts. 
It  doesn't  exist  in  being  true  to  your  marriage  vows.  It  is 
only  by  repentance  and  faith  in  the  atoning  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  some  of  you  fellows  have  searched  for  it  until 
you  are  gray-haired,  and  you  will  never  find  it  because 
it  only  exists  in  one  place — ^repentance  and  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ. 

Supposing  I  had  in  one  hand  a  number  of  kernels  of 
wheat  and  a  number  of  diamonds  equal  in  number  and 
size  to  the  kernels  of  wheat.  I  would  say:  "Take  your 
choice."  Nine  of  ten  would  take  the  diamonds.  I  would 
say:  "Diamonds  are  worth  more  than  wheat."  So  they 
are  now,  but  you  take  those  diamonds,  they  will  never 
grow,  never  add.  But  I  can  take  a  handful  of  wheat,  sow 
it,  and,  fecundated  by  the  rays  of  the  sun  and  the  moisture, 
it  will  grow  and  in  a  few  years  I  have  what's  worth  all  the 
diamonds  in  the  world,  for  wheat  contains  the  power  of 


OUR  LONG  HOME  413 

life;  wheat  can  reproduce  and  diamonds  can't;  they're  not 
life.  A  diamond  is  simply  a  piece  of  charcoal  changed  by 
the  mysterious  process  of  nature,  but  it  has  no  life.  Wheat 
has  life.  Wheat  can  grow.  You  can  take  a  moral  man; 
he  may  shine  and  glisten  and  sparkle  like  a  diamond.  He 
may  outshine  in  his  beauty  the  Christian  man.  But  he 
will  never  be  anything  else.  His  morahty  can  never  grow. 
It  has  no  life,  but  the  man  who  is  a  Christian  has  life. 
He  has  eternal  life.  Yom*  moraUty  is  a  fine  thing  imtil 
death  comes,  then  it's  lost  and  you  are  lost.  Yoiu*  dia- 
mond is  a  fine  thing  to  carry  until  it's  lost,  and  of  what 
value  is  it  then?  Of  what  value  is  your  moraUty  when 
your  soul  is  lost? 

Supposing  I  go  out  in  the  spring  and  I  see  two  farmers, 
living  across  the  road  from  each  other.  One  man  plows 
his  field  and  then  harrows  and  puts  on  the  roller,  gets  it 
all  fine  and  then  plants  the  com  or  drills  in  the  oats. 
I  come  back  in  the  fall  and  that  man  has  gathered  his  crop 
into  the  bam  and  the  granaries  and  has  hay  stacked  aroimd 
the  bam. 

The  other  fellow  is  plowing  and  puts  the  roller  on  and 
gets  his  ground  in  good  shape.  I  come  back  in  the  fall 
and  he  is  still  doing  the  same  thing.  I  say,  "What  are  you 
doing?"  He  says:  "Well,  I  believe  in  a  high  state  of  culti- 
vation." I  say:  "Look  at  your  neighbor,  see  what  he  has." 
"A  bam  full  of  grain."  "Yes."  "More  stock."  "Yes." 
But  he  says:  "Look  at  the  weeds.  You  don't  see  any 
weeds  like  that  on  my  place.  Why,  he  had  to  bum  the 
weeds  before  he  could  find  the  potatoes  to  dig  them.  The 
weeds  were  as  big  as  the  com."  I  said:  "I'll  agree  with 
you  that  he  has  raised  some  weeds,  but  he  has  raised  com 
as  well."  What  is  that  ground  worth  without  seed  in 
it?  No  more  than  your  life  is  worth  without  having 
Jesus  Christ  in  it.  You  will  starve  to  death  if  you 
don't  put  seed  in  the  ground.  Plowing  the  ground  with- 
out putting  in  the  seed  doesn't  amount  to  a  snap  of  the 
finger. 


414 


OUR   LONG  HOME 


Rewards  of  Merit 

When  I  was  a  little  boy  out  in  Iowa,  at  the  end  of  the 
term  of  school  it  was  customary  for  the  teachers  to  give 
us  httle  cards,  with  a  hand  in  one  comer  holding  a  scroll, 
and  in  that  scroll  was  a  place  to  write  the  name:  "Willie 
Sunday,  good  boy."  Willie  Sunday  never  got  hump- 
shouldered  lugging  them  home,  I 
can  tell  you.  I  never  carried  off 
the  champion  long-distance  belt  for 
verse-quoting,  either.  If  you  ever 
saw  an  American  kid,  I  was  one. 

I  feel  sorry  for  the  Uttle  Lord 
Fauntleroy  boys  with  long  ciu-ly 
hair  and  white  stockings.  Yank  'em 
off  and  let  them  go  barefoot. 

A  friend  of  mine  told  me  he  was 
one  time  being  driven  along  the 
banks  of  the  Hudson  and  they  went 
past  a  beautiful  farm,  and  there 
sittuig  on  the  fence  in  front  of  a 
tree,  in  which  was  fastened  a  mirror 
about  twelve  inches  square,  sat  a 
bird  of  paradise  that  was  looking 
into  the  mirror,  adjusting  his  plum- 
age and  admiring  himself,  and  the 
farmer  who  had  driven  my  friends 
"I  Feel  Sorkt  for  the  Lit-  out  said  that  every  time  he  passed 
'w,™L;.N"S^m?B™  those  birds  were  doing  that. 

AND  White  Stockings"  I    thought,     "Well,     that     r&» 

minds  me  of  a  whole  lot  of  fools 
I'm  fortunate  enough  to  meet  everywhere.  They  sit 
before  the  mirror  of  cultiu*e,  and  their  mirror  of  money, 
and  their  mirror  of  superior  education  and  attain- 
ments; they  are  married  into  some  old  famiUes.  What 
does  God  care  about  that?"  I  suppose  some  of 
you  spent  a  whole  lot  of  money  to  plant  a  family 
tree,  but  I  warrant  you   keep   to  the  back  the  limbs 


OUR  LONG  HOME  416 

on  which  some  of  your  ancestors  were  hanged  for  stealing 
horses. 

You  are  mistaken  in  God's  plan  of  salvation.  Some 
people  seem  to  think  God  is  like  a  great  big  bookkeeper 
in  heaven  and  that  he  has  a  whole  lot  of  angels  as  assist- 
ants. Every  time  you  do  a  good  thing  he  writes  it  down 
on  one  page  and  every  time  you  do  a  bad  deed  he  writes 
it  down  on  the  opposite  page,  and  when  you  die  he  draws 
a  line  and  adds  them  up.  If  you  have  done  more  good 
things  than  bad,  you  go  to  heaven;  more  bad  things  than 
good,  go  to  hell.  You  would  be  dumfounded  how  many 
people  have  sense  about  other  things  that  haven't  any  sense 
about  religion.  As  though  that  was  God's  plan  of  redemp- 
tion. Your  admission  into  heaven  depends  upon  your 
acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ;  reject  him  and  God  says  you 
will  be  damned. 

Back  in  the  time  of  Noah,  I  have  no  doubt  there  were 
a  lot  of  good  folks.  There  was  Noah.  God  says:  "Look 
here,  Noah,  I'm  going  to  drown  this  world  with  a  flood 
and  I  want  you  to  go  to  work  and  make  an  ark."  And 
Noah  started  to  make  it  according  to  God's  instructions 
and  he  pounded,  and  sawed,  and  drove  nails  and  worked 
for  120  years,  and  I  have  often  imagined  the  comments 
of  the  gang  in  an  automobile  going  by.  They  say:  "Look 
at  the  old  fool  Noah  building  an  ark.  Does  he  ever  expect 
God's  going  to  get  water  enough  to  flood  that?"  Along 
comes  another  crowd  and  one  says:  "That  Noah  bimch 
is  getting  daffy  on  rehgion.  I  think  we'd  better  take  them 
before  the  commission  and  pass  upon  their  sanity."  Along 
comes  another  crowd  and  they  say:  "Well,  there's  that 
Noah  crowd.  I  guess  we  won't  invite  them  to  our  card 
party  after  Lent  is  over."  They  said:  "-Why,  they're  too 
religious.     We'll  just  let  them  alone." 

Noah  paid  no  heed  to  their  criticism,  but  went  on 
working  until  he  got  through.  God  gave  the  crowd  a 
chance,  but  they  didn't  heed.  It  started  to  rain  and  it 
rained  and  rained  until  the  rivers  and  creeks  leaped  their 


416  OUR  LONG  HOME 

banks  and  the  lowlands  were  flooded.  Then  the  people 
began  to  move  to  the  hilltops.  The  water  began  to  creep 
up  the  hills.  Then  I  can  see  the  people  hurrying  off  to  lum- 
ber yards  to  buy  lumber  to  build  Uttle  rafts  of  their  own, 
for  they  began  to  see  that  Noah  wasn't  such  a  fool  after  all. 
The  hilltops  became  inundated  and  it  crept  to  the  moun- 
tains and  the  mountains  became  submerged.  Until  the 
flood  came  that  crowd  was  just  as  well  off  as  Noah,  but 
when  the  flood  struck  them  Noah  was  saved  and  they  were 
lost,  because  Noah  trusted  God  and  they  trusted  in  them- 
selves. You  moral  men,  you  may  be  just  as  well  off  as  the 
Christian  until  death  knocks  you  down,  then  you  are  lost, 
because  you  trust  in  your  moraUty.  The  Christian  is  saved 
because  he  trusts  in  Jesus.  Do  you  see  where  you  lose 
out? 

"Without  the  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission 
of  sin."  You  must  accept  the  atonement  Christ  made  by 
shedding  his  blood  or  God  will  slam  the  gate  of  heaven 
in  your  face. 

Some  people,  you  know,  want  to  wash  their  sins  and 
they  whitewash  them,  but  God  wants  them  white,  and 
there's  a  lot  of  difference  between  being  "white-washed" 
and  "washed  white." 

Supposing  I  was  at  one  of  your  banks  this  morning 
and  they  gave  me  $25  in  gold.  Supposing  I  would  put 
fifty  of  your  reputable  citizens  on  this  platform  and  they 
would  all  substantiate  what  I  say,  and  supposing  I  would 
be  authorized  by  bank  to  say  that  they  would  give  every 
man  and  woman  that  stands  in  line  in  front  of  the  bank 
at  9  o'clock  in  the  morning,  $25  in  gold.  If  I  could  stand 
up  there  and  make  that  announcement  in  this  city  with 
confidence  in  my  word,  people  would  line  the  streets  and 
string  away  back  on  the  hills,  waiting  for  the  bank  to 
open. 

I  can  stand  here  and  tell  you  that  God  offers  you  sal- 
vation through  repentance  and  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and 
that  you  must  accept  it  or  be  lost,  and  you  will  stand  up 


OUR  LONG  HOME  417 

and  argue  the  question,  as  though  your  argument  can 
change  God's  plan.  You  never  can  do  it.  Not  only  has 
Grod  promised  you  salvation  on  the  grounds  of  your  accept- 
ance of  Jesus  Christ  as  your  Saviour,  but  he  has  promised 
to  give  you  a  home  in  which  to  spend  eternity.  Listen! 
"In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions;  if  it  were  not 
so  I  would  have  told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for 
you."  Some  people  say  heaven  is  a  state  or  condition. 
I  don't  believe  it.  It  might  possibly  be  better  to  be  in  a 
heavenly  state  than  in  a  heavenly  place.  It  might  be 
better  to  be  in  hell  in  a  heavenly  state  than  to  be  in  heaven 
in  a  heUish  state.  That  may  be  true.  Heaven  is  as  much 
a  place  as  the  home  to  which  you  are  going  when  I  dis- 
miss the  meeting  is  a  place.  "I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for 
you."  Heaven  is  a  place  where  there  are  going  to  be 
some  fine  folks.  Abraham  will  be  there  and  I'm  going  up 
to  see  him.  Noah,  Moses,  Joseph,  Jacob,  Isaiah,  Daniel, 
Jeremiah  the  weeping  prophet,  Paul,  John,  Peter,  James, 
Samuel,  Martin  Luther,  Spurgeon,  Calvin,  Moody.  Oh, 
heaven  is  a  place  where  there  will  be  grand  and  noble 
people,  and  all  who  believe  in  Jesus  will  be  there. 

Suppose  instead  of  turning  off  the  gas  at  bedtime 
I  blew  it  out.  Then  when  Nell  and  I  awoke  choking, 
instead  of  opening  the  window  and  turning  off  the  gas 
I  got  a  bottle  of  cologne  and  sprinkled  ourselves.  The 
fool  principle  of  trying  to  overcome  the  poison  of  gas  with 
perfumery  wouldn't  work.  The  next  day  there  would  be 
a  coroner's  jury  in  the  house.  Your  principle  of  trying 
to  overcome  sin  by  morality  won't  work  either. 

I'm  going  to  meet  David  and  I'll  say:  "David,  I'm 
not  a  U.  P.,  but  I  wish  you'd  sing  the  twenty-third  psalm 
for  me." 

A  Place  of  Noble  People 

The  booze  fighter  won't  be  in  heaven ;  he  is  here.    The 
skeptic  won't  be  there;   he  is  here.     There'll  be  nobody 
to  run  booze  joints  or  gambling  hells  in  heaven.     Heaven 
an 


418  OUR  LONG  HOME 

will  be  a  place  of  grand  and  noble  people,  who  love  Jesus. 
The  beloved  wife  will  meet  her  husband.  Mother,  you 
will  meet  your  babe  again  that  you  have  been  separated 
from  for  months  or  years.  Heaven  will  be  free  from 
everything  that  curses  and  danms  this  old  world  here. 
Wouldn't  this  be  a  grand  old  world  if  it  weren't  for  a  lot 
of  things  in  it?  Can  you  conceive  anything  being  grander 
than  this  world  if  it  hadn't  a  lot  of  thhigs  in  it?  The  only 
thing  that  makes  it  a  decent  place  to  Hve  in  is  the  religion 
of  Jesus  Christ.  There  isn't  a  man  that  would  live  in  it 
if  you  took  reUgion  out.  Your  mills  would  rot  on  their 
foimdations  if  there  were  no  Christian  people  of  influence 
here. 

There  will  be  no  sickness  in  heaven,  no  pain,  no  sin,  no 
poverty,  no  want,  no  death,  no  grinding  toil.  "There  remain- 
eth  therefore  a  rest  to  the  people  of  God."  I  tell  you  there 
are  a  good  many  poor  men  and  women  that  never  have  any 
rest.  They  have  had  to  get  up  early  in  the  morning  and 
work  all  day,  but  in  heaven  there  remaineth  a  rest  for  the 
people  of  God.  Weary  women  that  start  out  early  to  their 
daily  toil,  you  won't  have  to  get  out  and  toil  all  day.  No 
toil  in  heaven,  no  sickness.  "God  shall  wipe  away  all 
tears  from  their  eyes."  You  will  not  be  standing  watch- 
ing with  a  heart  filled  with  expectation,  and  doubt,  and 
hope.  No  watching  the  imdertaker  screw  the  coflBn  Ud 
over  your  loved  one,  or  watching  the  pall-bearers  carrying 
out  the  coffin  and  hearing  the  preacher  say,  "Ashes  to 
ashes,  dust  to  dust."  None  of  that  in  heaven.  Heaven — 
that  is  a  place  He  has  gone  to  prepare  for  those  who  will 
do  his  will  and  keep  his  commandments  and  turn  from 
their  sin.    Isn't  it  great? 

Everything  will  be  perfect  in  heaven.  Down  here  we 
only  know  in  part,  but  there  we  will  know  as  we  are  known. 
It  is  a  city  that  hath  foundation.  Here  we  have  no  con- 
tinuing state.  Look  at  your  beautiful  homes.  You  admire 
them.  The  next  time  you  go  up  your  avenues  and  streets 
look  at  the  homes.     But  they  are  going  to  rot  on  their 


OUR  LONG  HOME  419 

foundations.  Every  one  of  them.  Where  are  you  tonight, 
old  Eternal  City  of  Rome  on  your  seven  hills?  Where 
are  you?  Only  a  memory  of  your  glory.  Where  have 
they  all  gone?    The  homes  will  crumble. 

"Enoch  walked  with  God  and  was  not,  for  God  took 
him."     That  is  a  complete  biography  of  Enoch. 

Elijah  was  carried  to  heaven  in  a  chariot  of  fire  and 
Elisha  took  up  the  mantle  of  the  prophet  Elijah  and  smote 
the  Jordan  and  went  back  to  the  seminary  where  EHjah 
had  taught  and  told  the  people  there.  They  would  not 
beUeve  him,  and  they  looked  for  Elijah,  but  they  foimd  him 
not.  Centuries  later  it  was  the  privilege  of  Peter,  James 
and  John  in  the  company  of  Jesus  Christ,  on  the  Mount 
of  Transfiguration,  to  look  into  the  face  of  that  same  Ehjah 
who  centuries  before  had  walked  the  hilltops  and  slain 
four  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  prophets  of  Baal. 

«  A  Place  for  You  " 

Stephen,  as  they  stoned  him  to  death,  with  his  face 
lighted  up  saw  Jesus  standing  on  the  right  of  God  the 
Father,  the  place  which  he  had  designated  before  his 
crucifixion  would  be  his  abiding  place  until  the  fulfilment 
of  the  time  of  the  Gentiles  in  the  world.  Among  the  last 
declarations  of  Jesus  is,  "In  my  Father's  house  are  many 
mansions."  What  a  comfort  to  the  bereaved  and  aflSicted. 
Not  only  had  God  provided  salvation  through  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  as  a  gift  from  God's  outstretched  hand,  but  he 
provided  a  home  in  which  you  can  spend  eternity.  He 
has  provided  a  home  for  you.  Surely,  surely,  friends, 
from  the  beginning  of  the  history  of  man,  from  the  time 
Enoch  walked  with  God  and  was  not,  until  John  on  the 
island  of  Patmos  saw  the  new  Jerusalem  let  down  by  God 
out  of  heaven,  we  have  ample  proof  that  heaven  is  a  place. 
Although  we  cannot  see  it  with  the  natural  eyes,  it  is  a 
place,  the  dwelling  place  of  God  and  of  the  angels  and  of 
the  redeemed  through  faith  in  the  Son  of  God. 

He  says,  "I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you." 


420  OUR  LONG  HOME 

People  sometimes  ask  me,  "Who  do  you  think  will 
die  first,  Mr.  Sunday,  you  or  your  wife,  or  your  children 
or  your  mother?  "  I  don't  know.  I  think  I  will.  I  never 
expect  to  be  an  old  man,  I  work  too  hard.  I  burn  up 
more  energy  preaching  in  an  hour  than  any  other  man 
will  bum  up  in  ten  or  twelve  hours.  I  never  expect  to 
Uve  to  be  an  old  man.  I  don't  expect  to,  but  I  know  this 
much,  if  my  wife  or  my  babies  should  go  first  this  old 
world  would  be  a  dark  place  for  me  and  I  would  be  glad 
when  God  summoned  me  to  leave  it;  and  if  I  left  first  I 
know  they  would  be  glad  when  God  called  them  home. 
If  I  go  first,  I  know  after  I  go  up  and  take  Jesus  by  the 
hand  and  say,  "Jesus,  thank  you.  I'm  glad  you  honored 
me  with  the  privilege  of  preaching  your  Gospel;  I  wish 
I  could  have  done  it  better,  but  I  did  my  best,  and  now, 
Jesus,  if  you  don't  care,  I'd  like  to  hang  around  the  gate 
and  be  the  first  to  welcome  my  wife  and  the  babies  when 
they  come.  Do  you  care,  Jesus,  if  I  sit  there?"  And  he 
will  say,  "No,  you  can  sit  right  there.  Bill,  if  you  want 
to;  it's  aU  ri^t."     I'll  say,  "Thank  you.  Lord.'* 

If  they  would  go  first,  I  think  after  they  would  go 
up  and  thank  Jesus  that  they  are  home,  they  would  say, 
"Jesus,  I  wish  you  would  hurry  up  and  bring  papa  home. 
He  doesn't  want  to  stay  down  there  because  we  are  up 
here."  They  would  go  around  and  put  their  grips  away 
in  their  room,  wherever  it  is,  and  then  they  would  say, 
"Can  we  sit  here,  Jesus?"     "Yes,  that's  all  right." 

I  don't  know  where  I'll  five  when  I  get  to  heaven. 
I  don't  know  whether  I'll  five  on  a  main  street  or  an  avenue 
or  a  boulevard.  I  don't  know  where  I'll  live  when  I  get 
to  heaven.  I  don't  know  whether  it  will  be  in  the  back 
alley  or  where,  but  I'll  just  be  glad  to  get  there.  I'll  be 
thankful  for  the  mansion  wherever  God  provides  it.  I 
never  like  to  think  about  heaven  as  a  great,  big  tenement 
house,  where  they  put  hundreds  of  people  imder  one  roof, 
as  we  do  in  Chicago  or  other  big  cities.  "In  my  Father's 
house  are  many  mansions."     And  so  it  will  be  up  in 


OUR  LONG  HOME  421 

heaven,  and  I'll  be  glad,  awfully  glad,  and  I  tell  you  I 
think  if  my  wife  and  children  go  first,  the  children  might 
be  off  some  place  playing,  but  wife  would  be  right  there, 
and  I  would  meet  her  and  say,  "Why,  wife,  where  are  the 
children?"  She  would  say,  "Why,  they  are  playing  on 
the  banks  of  the  river."  (We  are  told  about  the  river 
that  flows  from  the  throne  of  God.)  We  would  walk  down 
and  I  would  say,  "Hello,  Helen!  Hey,  George.  Hey, 
Willsky;  bring  the  baby;  come  on."  And  they  would 
come  tearing  as  they  do  now. 

I  would  say,  "Now,  children,  run  away  and  play  a 
Uttle  while.  I  haven't  seen  mother  for  a  long  time  and  we 
have  lots  of  things  to  talk  about,"  and  I  think  we  would 
walk  away  and  sit  down  under  a  tree  and  I  would  put 
my  head  in  her  lap  as  I  do  now  when  my  head  is  tired, 
and  I  would  say,  "Wife,  a  whole  lot  of  folks  down  there 
in  our  neighborhood  in  Chicago  foave  died;  have  they  come 
to  heaven?" 

The  Missing 

"Well,  I  don't  know.     Who  has  died?" 

"Mr.  S.    Is  he  here?" 

"I  haven't  seen  him." 

"No?  His  will  probated  five  million.  Bradstreet 
and  Dun  rated  him  AaG.     Isn't  he  here?" 

"I  haven't  seen  him." 

"Is  Mr.  J.  here?" 

"I  haven't  seen  him." 

"  Haven't  seen  him,  wife?  That's  funny.  He  left  years 
before  I  did.    Is  Mrs.  N  here?" 

"No." 

"You  know  they  lived  on  River  street.  Her  husband 
paid  $8,000  for  a  lot  and  $60,000  for  a  house.  He  paid 
$2,000  for  a  bathroom.  Mosaic  floor  and  the  fiinest  of 
fixtures.  You  know,  wife,  she  always  came  to  church  late 
and  would  drive  up  in  her  carriage,  and  she  would  sweep 
down  the  aisle  and  you  would  think  all  the  perfume  of 


422  OUR  LONG  HOME 

Arabia  had  floated  in,  and  she  had  diamonds  in  her  ears 
as  big  as  pebbles.    Is  she  here?" 

"I  haven't  seen  her." 

"WeU!    Well!    WeU!    Is  Aunty  Griffith  here?" 

"Yes;  aunty  lives  next  to  us." 

"I  knew  she  would  be  here.  God  bless  her  heart! 
She  had  two  big  lazy,  drunken  louts  of  boys  that  didn't 
care  for  her,  and  the  church  supported  her  for  sixteen  years 
to  my  knowledge  and  they  put  her  in  the  home  for  old 
people.    Hello,  yonder  she  comes.    How  are  you.  Aunty?" 

She  will  say,  "How  are  you,  Wilham?" 

"I'm  first  rate." 

"Mon,  ye  look  natural  just  the  same." 

"Yes." 

"And  when  did  ye  leave  Chicago,  Wally?" 

"Last  night,  Aunty." 

"I'm  awfully  glad  to  see  you,  and,  Wally,  I  live  right 
next  door  to  you,  mon." 

"Good,  Aunty,  I  knew  God  would  let  you  in.  My, 
where's  mother,  wife?" 

"She's  here." 

"I  know  she's  here;  I  wish  she  would  come.  Helen, 
is  that  mother  coming  down  the  hill?" 

"Yes." 

I  would  say,  "Have  you  seen  Fred,  or  Rody,  or 
Peacock,  or  Ackley,  or  any  of  them?" 

"Yes.    They  live  right  around  near  us." 

"George,  you  run  down  and  tell  Fred  I've  come,  will 
you?  Hunt  up  Rody,  and  Peacock  and  Ackley  and 
Fred,  and  see  if  you  can  find  Frances  around  there  and 
tell  them  I've  just  come  in."  And  they  would  come  and 
I  would  say,  "How  are  you?  Glad  to  see  you.  Feeling 
first-rate." 

And,  oh,  what  a  time  we'll  have  i&  heaven.  In  heaven 
they  never  mar  the  hillsides  with  spades,  for  they  dig  no 
graves.  In  heaven  they  never  telephone  for  the  doctor,  for 
nobody  gets  sick.     In  heaven  no  one  carries  handkerchiefs, 


OUR  LONG  HOME  423 

for  nobody  cries.  In  heaven  they  never  telephone  for  the 
undertaker,  for  nobody  dies.  In  heaven  you  will  never 
see  a  fimeral  procession  going  down  the  street,  nor  cr6pe 
hanging  from  the  doorknob.  In  heaven,  none  of  the  things 
that  enter  your  home  here  will  enter  there.  Sickness  won't 
get  in;  death  won't  get  in,  nor  sorrow,  because  "Former 
things  are  passed  away,"  all  things  have  become  new. 
In  heaven  the  flowers  never  fade,  the  winter  winds  and 
blasts  never  blow.  The  rivers  never  congeal,  never  freeze, 
for  it  never  gets  cold.    No,  sir. 

Say,  don't  let  God  be  compelled  to  hang  a  "For  Rent" 
sign  in  the  window  of  the  mansion  he  has  prepared  for 
you.  I  would  walk  around  with  him  and  I'd  say,  "Whose 
mansion  is  that,  Jesus?" 

"Why,  I  had  that  for  one  of  the  rich  men,  but  he 
passed  it  up." 

"Who's  that  one  for?" 

"That  was  for  a  doctor,  but  he  did  not  take  it." 

"That  was  for  one  of  the  school  teachers,  but  she 
didn't  come." 

"Who  is  that  one  for,  Jesus?" 

"That  was  for  a  society  man,  but  he  didn't  want  it." 

"Who  is  that  one  for?" 

"That  was  for  a  booze  fighter,  but  he  woxildn't  pass 
up  the  business." 

Don't  let  God  hang  a  "For  Rent"  sign  in  the  man- 
sion that  he  has  prepared  for  you.  Just  send  up  word 
and  say,  "Jesus,  I've  changed  my  mind;  just  put  my  name 
down  for  that,  will  you?  I'm  coming.  I'm  coming." 
"In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions;  if  it  were  not 
so  I  would  have  told  you;  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you." 


CHAPTER  XXXn 
Glorying  in  the  Cross 

It's  Jesus  Christ  or  nothing. — Billy  Sitndat. 

PAULINE  in  more  than  one  characteristic  is  Billy 
Sunday.  But  in  none  so  much  as  in  his  devotion  to 
the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ.  His  life  motto  may  well 
be  Paul's,  "I  am  resolved  to  know  nothing  among  you,  save 
Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified."  His  preaching  is  entirely 
founded  on  the  message  that  "the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  There  are  no  modern  theories  of 
the  atonement  in  his  utterances.  To  the  learned  of  the 
world,  as  to  the  Greeks  of  old,  the  Cross  may  seem  foolish- 
ness, but  Sunday  knows  and  preaches  it  as  the  power  of 
God  unto  salvation.  As  his  closing  and  most  characteristic 
message  to  the  readers  of  this  book  we  commend  his  sermon 
on  "Christ  and  him  crucified." 

"ATONEMENT*' 

"For  if  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats  and  the  ashes  of 
an  heifer  sprinkling  the  unclean,  sanctifieth  to  the  purifjdng 
of  the  flesh" — Paul  argued  in  his  letter  to  the  Hebrews 
— "how  much  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ,  who  through 
the  eternal  Spirit  offered  himself  without  spot  to  God, 
purge  your  conscience  from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living 
God." 

No  more  of  this  turtle-dove  business,  no  more  offering 
the  blood  of  bullocks  and  heifers  to  cleanse  from  sin. 

The  atoning  blood  of  Jesus  Christ — that  is  the  thing 
about  which  all  else  centers.  I  believe  that  more  logical, 
illogical,  idiotic,  religious  and  irreligious  arguments  have 
been  fought  over  this  than  all  others.  Now  and  then  when 
a  man  gets  a  new  idea  of  it  he  goes  out  and  starts  a  new 
denomination.     He  has  a  perfect  right  to  do  this  under 

(42i) 


GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS  425 

the  thirteenth  amendment,  but  he  doesn't  stop  here.  He 
makes  war  on  all  of  the  other  denommations  that  do  not 
interpret  as  he  does.  Our  denominations  have  multiplied 
by  this  method  until  it  would  give  one  brain  fever  to  try  to 
coimt  them  all. 

The  atoning  blood!  And  as  I  think  it  over  I  am 
reminded  of  a  man  who  goes  to  England  and  advertises 
that  he  will  throw  pictures  on  the  screen  of  the  Atlantic 
coast  of  America.  So  he  gets  a  crowd  and  throws  pictures 
on  the  screen  of  high  bluffs  and  rocky  coasts  and  waves 
dashing  against  them  until  a  man  comes  out  of  the  audience 
and  brands  him  a  Har  and  says  that  he  is  obtaining  money 
under  false  pretense,  as  he  has  seen  America  and  the 
Atlantic  coast  and  what  the  other  man  is  showing  is  not 
America  at  all.  The  men  almost  come  to  blows  and  then 
the  other  man  says  that  if  the  people  will  come  tomorrow 
he  will  show  them  real  pictures  of  the  coast.  So  the 
audience  comes  back  to  see  what  he  will  show,  and  he 
flashes  on  the  screen  pictures  of  a  low  coast  line,  with 
palmetto  trees  and  banana  trees  and  tropical  foliage  and  he 
apologizes  to  the  audience,  but  says  these  are  the  pictures 
of  America.  The  first  man  calls  him  a  har  and  the  people 
don't  know  which  to  beheve.  What  was  the  matter  with 
them? 

They  were  both  right  and  they  were  both  wrong, 
paradoxical  as  it  may  seem.  They  were  both  right  as  far 
as  they  went,  but  neither  went  far  enough.  The  first  showed 
the  coast  line  from  New  England  to  Cape  Hatteras, 
while  the  second  showed  the  coast  line  from  Hatteras  to 
Yucatan.  They  neither  could  show  it  all  in  one  panoramic 
view,  for  it  is  so  varied  it  could  not  be  taken  in  one  picttu'e. 
God  never  intended  to  give  you  a  picture  of  the  world  in 
one  panoramic  view.  From  the  time  of  Adam  and  Eve 
down  to  the  time  Jesus  Christ  hung  on  the  cross  he  was 
unfolding  his  views.  When  I  see  Moses  leading  the  people 
out  of  bondage  where  they  for  years  had  bared  their  backs 
to  the  taskmaster's  lash;  when  I  see  the  lowing  herds  and 


426  GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS 

the  high  priest  standing  before  the  altar  severing  the  jugular 
vein  of  the  rams  and  the  bullocks  on  until  Christ  cried  out 
from  the  cross,  "It  is  finished,"  God  was  preparing  the  pic- 
ture for  the  consummation  of  it  in  the  atoning  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

A  sinner  has  no  standing  with  God.  He  forfeits  his 
standing  when  he  conunits  sin  and  the  only  way  he  can 
get  back  is  to  repent  and  accept  the  atoning  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

I  have  sometimes  thought  that  Adam  and  Eve  didn't 
understand  as  fully  as  we  do  when  the  Lord  said,  "Eat  and 
you  shall  surely  die."  They  had  never  seen  any  one  die. 
They  might  have  thought  it  simply  meant  a  separation  from 
God.  But  no  sooner  had  they  eaten  and  seen  their  naked- 
ness than  they  sought  to  cover  themselves,  and  it  is  the  same 
today.  When  man  sees  himself  in  his  sins,  imcovered,  he 
tries  to  cover  himself  in  philosophy  or  some  fake.  But  God 
looked  through  the  fig  leaves  and  the  foUage  and  God  walked 
out  in  the  field  and  slew  the  beasts  and  took  their  skins  and 
wrapped  them  around  Adam  and  Eve,  and  from  that  day  to 
this  when  a  man  has  been  a  sinner  and  has  covered  himself 
it  has  been  by  and  through  faith  in  the  shed  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Every  Jew  covered  his  sins  and  received  pardon 
through  the  blood  of  the  rams  and  bullocks  and  the  doves. 

An  old  infidel  said  to  me  once,  "But  I  don't  believe  in 
atonement  by  blood.  It  doesn't  come  up  to  my  ideas  of 
what  is  right." 

I  said,  "To  perdition  with  your  ideas  of  what  is  right. 
Do  you  think  God  is  coming  down  here  to  consult  you  with 
your  great  intellect  and  wonderful  brain,  and  find  out  what 
you  think  is  right  before  he  does  it?  "  My,  but  you  make  me 
sick.  You  think  that  because  you  don't  believe  it  that  it 
isn't  true. 

I  have  read  a  great  deal — ^not  everything,  mind  you,  for 
a  man  would  go  crazy  if  he  tried  to  read  everything — ^but  I 
have  read  a  great  deal  that  has  been  written  against  the 
atonement  from  the  infidel  standpoint — Voltaire,  Huxley, 


GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS  427 

Spencer,  Diderot,  Bradlaugh,  Paine,  on  down  to  Bob  Inger- 
soll — ^and  I  have  never  found  an  argument  that  would  stand 
the  test  of  common  sense  and  common  reasoning.  And  if 
anyone  tells  me  he  has  tossed  on  the  scrap  heap  the  plan  of 
atonement  by  blood  I  say,  "What  have  you  to  offer  that 
is  better?"  and  until  he  can  show  me  something  that  is 
better  I'll  nail  my  hopes  to  the  cross. 

Suffering  for  the  Gmlty 

You  say  you  don't  beUeve  in  the  innocent  suffering  for 
the  guilty.  Then  I  say  to  you,  you  haven't  se«i  life  as  I 
have  seen  it  up  and  down  the  coimtry.  The  innocent  suffer 
with  the  guilty,  by  the  guilty  and  for  the  guilty.  Look 
at  that  old  mother  waiting  with  trembling  heart  for 
the  son  she  has  brought  into  the  world.  And  see  him 
come  staggering  in  and  reeling  and  staggering  to  bed 
while  his  mother  prays  and  weeps  and  soaks  the  pillow 
with  her  tears  over  her  godless  boy.  Who  suffers  most? 
The  mother  or  that  godless,  maudlin  bum?  You  have  only 
to  be  the  mother  of  a  boy  like  that  to  know  who  staffers  most. 
Then  you  won't  say  anything  about  the  plan  of  redemption 
and  of  Jesus  Christ  suffering  for  the  guilty. 

Look  at  that  young  wife,  waiting  for  the  man  whose 
name  she  bears,  and  whose  face  is  woven  in  the  fiber  of  her 
heart,  the  man  she  loves.  She  waits  for  him  in  fright  and 
when  he  comes,  reeking  from  the  stench  of  the  breaking  of 
his  marriage  vows,  from  the  arms  of  infamy,  who  suffers 
most?  That  poor,  dirty,  triple  extract  of  vice  and  sin?  You 
have  only  to  be  the  wife  of  a  husband  like  that  to  know 
whether  the  innocent  suffers  for  the  guilty  or  not.  I  have 
the  sympathy  of  those  who  know  right  now. 

This  happened  in  Chicago  in  a  poUce  court.  A  letter 
was  introduced  as  evid«ice  for  a  criminal  there  for  vagrancy. 
It  read,  "I  hope  you  won't  have  to  himt  long  to  find  work. 
Tom  is  sick  and  baby  is  sick.  Lucy  has  no  shoes  and  we  have 
no  money  for  the  doctor  or  to  buy  any  clothes.  I  manage 
to  make  a  little  taking  in  washing,  but  we  are  Uving  in  one 


428  GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS 

room  in  a  basement.  I  hope  you  won't  have  to  look  long  for 
work,"  and  so  on,  just  the  kind  of  a  letter  a  wife  would  write 
to  her  husband.  And  before  it  was  finished  men  cried  and 
policemen  with  hearts  of  adamant  were  crying  and  fled  from 
the  room.  The  judge  wiped  the  tears  from  his  eyes  and 
said:  "You  see,  no  man  lives  to  himself  alone.  If  he  sins 
others  suffer.  I  have  no  alternative.  I  sympathize  with 
them,  as  does  every  one  of  you,  but  I  have  no  alternative. 
I  must  send  this  man  to  Bridewell."  Who  suffers  most,  that 
woman  manicuring  her  nails  over  a  washboard  to  keep  the 
little  brood  together  or  that  drunken  bum  in  Bridewell 
getting  his  just  deserts  from  his  acts?  You  have  only  to  be 
the  wife  of  a  man  like  that  to  know  whether  or  not  the 
innocent  suffer  with  the  guilty. 

So  when  you  don't  like  the  plan  of  redemption  because 
the  innocent  suffer  with  the  guilty,  I  say  you  don't  know  what 
is  going  on.    Iff  the  plan  of  life  everywhere. 

From  the  fall  of  Adam  and  Eve  till  now  it  has  always 
been  the  rule  that  the  innocent  suffer  with  the  guilty.  It's 
the  plan  of  all  and  unless  you  are  an  idiot,  an  imbecile  and 
a  jackass,  and  gross  flatterer  at  that,  you'll  see  it. 

Jesus'  Atoning  Blood 

Jesus  gave  his  life  on  the  cross  for  any  who  will  believe. 
We're  not  redeemed  by  silver  or  gold.  Jesus  paid  for  it 
with  his  blood.  When  some  one  tells  you  that  your  re- 
hgion  is  a  bloody  religion  and  the  Bible  is  a  bloody  book, 
tell  them  yes,  Christianity  is  a  bloody  religion,  the  gospel  is 
a  bloody  gospel,  the  Bible  is  a  bloody  book,  the  plan  of 
redemption  is  bloody.  It  is.  You  take  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  out  of  Christianity  and  that  book  isn't  worth  the 
paper  it  is  written  on.  It  would  be  worth  no  more  than  your 
body  with  the  blood  taken  out.  Take  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  out  and  it  would  be  a  meaningless  jargon  and  jumble 
of  words. 

If  it  weren't  for  the  atoning  blood  you  might  as  well 
rip  the  roofs  off  the  churches  and  bum  them  down.    They 


GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS 


429 


aren't  worth  anything.  But  as  long  as  the  blood  is  on  the 
mercy  seat  the  sinner  can  return,  and  by  no  other  way. 
There  is  nothing  else.  It  stands  for  the  redemption.  You 
are  not  redeemed  by  silver  or  gold,  but  by  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Though  a  man  says  to  read  good  books,  do  good 
deeds,  live  a  good  life  and  you'll  be  saved,  you'll  be  damned. 
That's  what  you  will.  AH  the  books  in  the  world  won't 
keep  you  out  of  hell  without  the  atoning  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ.  It's  Jesus  Christ 
or  nothing  for  every  sinner 
on  God's  earth. 

Without  it  not  a  sinner 
will  ever  be  saved.  Jesus 
has  paid  for  your  sins  with 
his  blood.  The  doctrine  of 
imiversal  salvation  is  a  lie. 
I  wish  every  one  would  be 
saved,  but  they  won't.  You 
will  never  be  saved  if  you 
reject  the  blood. 

I  remember  when  I  was 
in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  Chi- 
cago I  was  going  down 
Madison  Street  and  had 
just     crossed    Dearborn 

Street  when  I  saw  a  newsboy  with  a  young  sparrow  in  his 
hand.    I  said:  ''Let  that  httle  bird  go." 

He  said,  "Aw,  g'wan  with  you,  you  big  mutt." 

I  said,  "I'll  give  you  a  penny  for  it,"  and  he  answered, 
"Not  on  yoiu-  tintype." 

"I'll  give  you  a  nickel  for  it,"  and  he  answered,  "Boss, 
I'm  from  Missouri;  come  across  with  the  dough." 

I  offered  it  to  him,  but  he  said,  "Give  it  to  that  guy 
there,"  and  I  gave  it  to  the  boy  he  indicated  and  took  the 
sparrow. 

I  held  it  for  a  moment  and  then  it  fluttered  and  strug- 
gled and  finally  reached  the  window  ledge  in  a  second  story 


'Sat,  Boss,  Wht  Didn't  Yoir  Chuck 
THAT  Nickel  in  the  Sewer?" 


^0  GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS 

across  the  street.  And  other  birds  fluttered  around  over  my 
head  and  seemed  to  say  in  bird  language,  "Thank  you,  Bill." 

The  kid  looked  at  me  in  wonder  and  said:  ''Say,  boss, 
why  didn't  you  chuck  that  nickel  in  the  sewer?" 

I  told  him  that  he  was  just  like  that  bird.  He  was  in 
the  grip  of  the  devil,  and  the  devil  was  too  strong  for  him 
just  as  he  was  too  strong  for  the  sparrow,  and  just  as  I  could 
do  with  the  sparrow  what  I  wanted  to  after  I  had  paid  for  it 
because  it  was  mine.  God  paid  a  price  for  him  far  greater 
than  I  had  for  the  sparrow,  for  he  had  paid  it  with  the  blood 
of  his  Son  and  he  wanted  to  set  him  free. 

No  Argument  Against  Sin 

So,  my  friend,  if  I  had  paid  for  some  property  from  you 
with  a  price,  I  could  command  you,  and  if  you  wouldn't 
give  it  to  me  I  could  go  into  court  and  make  you  yield.  Why 
do  you  want  to  be  a  sinner  and  refuse  to  yield?  You  are 
withholding  from  God  what  he  paid  for  on  the  cross.  When 
you  refuse  you  are  not  giving  God  a  square  deal. 

I'll  tell  you  another.  It  stands  for  God's  hatred  of  sin. 
Sin  is  something  you  can't  deny.  You  can't  argue  against 
sin.  A  skilful  man  can  frame  an  argument  against  the 
validity  of  reUgion,  but  he  can't  frame  an  argument  against 
sin.  I'll  tell  you  something  that  may  sm*prise  you.  If  I 
hadn't  had  four  years  of  instruction  in  the  Bible  from  Gene- 
sis to  Revelation,  before  I  saw  Bob  Ingersoll's  book,  and  I 
don't  want  to  take  any  credit  from  that  big  iutelligent  brain 
of  his,  I  would  be  preaching  iufidehty  instead  of  Christian- 
ity. Thank  the  Lord  I  saw  the  Bible  first.  I  have  taken 
his  lectures  and  placed  them  by  the  side  of  the  Bible,  and 
said,  "You  didn't  say  it  from  yom*  knowledge  of  the  Bible." 
And  I  have  never  considered  him  honest,  for  he  could  not 
have  been  so  wise  in  other  things  and  such  a  fool  about 
the  plan  of  redemption.  So  I  say  I  don't  think  he  was  en- 
tirely honest. 

But  you  can't  argue  against  the  existence  of  sin,  simply 
because  it  is  an  open  fact,  the  word  of  God.     You  can 


GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS  431 

argue  against  Jesus  being  the  Son  of  God.  You  can  argue 
about  there  being  a  heaven  and  a  hell,  but  you  can't  argue 
against  sin.  It  is  in  the  world  and  men  and  women  are 
bUghted  and  mildewed  by  it. 

Some  years  ago  I  turned  a  comer  in  Chicago  and  stood 
in  front  of  a  pohce  station.  As  I  stood  there  a  patrol  dashed 
up  and  three  women  were  taken  from  some  drunken  debauch, 
and  they  were  dirty  and  blear-eyed,  and  as  they  were  taken 
out  they  started  a  flood  of  profanity  that  seemed  to  turn  the 
very  air  blue.  I  said,  "There  is  sin."  And  as  I  stood  there 
up  dashed  another  patrol  and  out  of  it  they  took  four  men, 
drunken  and  ragged  and  bloated,  and  I  said,  ''There  is  sin." 
You  can't  argue  against  the  fact  of  sin.  It  is  in  the  world 
and  blights  men  and  women.  But  Jesus  came  to  the  world 
to  save  all  who  accept  him. 

"How  Long,  O  God?" 

It  was  out  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  Chicago.  "What  is 
your  name  and  what  do  you  want?  "  I  asked. 

"I'm  from  Cork,  Ireland,"  said  he,  "and  my  name  is 
James  O'Toole."  Here  is  a  letter  of  introduction."  I  read 
it  and  it  said  he  was  a  good  Christian  young  man  and  an 
energetic  young  fellow. 

I  said,  "Well,  Jim,  my  name  is  Mr.  Sunday.  I'll  tell 
you  where  there  are  some  good  Christian  boarding  houses 
and  you  let  me  know  which  one  you  pick  out."  He  told  me 
afterwards  that  he  had  one  on  the  North  Side.  I  sent  him 
an  invitation  to  a  meeting  to  be  held  at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and 
he  had  it  when  he  and  some  companions  went  bathing  in 
Lake  Michigan.  He  dived  from  the  pier  just  as  the  water 
receded  unexpectedly  and  he  struck  the  bottom  and  broke 
his  neck.  He  was  taken  to  the  morgue  and  the  poUce  found 
my  letter  in  his  clothes,  and  told  me  to  come  and  claim  it  or 
it  would  be  sent  to  a  medical  college.  I  went  and  they  had 
the  body  on  a  slab,  but  I  told  them  I  would  send  a  cablegram 
to  his  folks  and  asked  them  to  hold  it.  They  put  it  in  a  glass 
case  and  turned  on  the  cold  air,  by  which  they  freeze  bodies 


432  GLORYING  IN  THE  CROSS 

by  chemical  processes,  as  they  freeze  ice,  and  said  they  would 
save  it  for  two  months,  and  if  I  wanted  it  longer  they  would 
stretch  the  rules  a  little  and  keep  it  three. 

I  was  just  thinking  of  what  sorrow  that  cablegram 
would  cause  his  old  mother  in  Cork  when  they  brought  in  the 
body  of  a  woman.  She  would  have  been  a  fit  model  of 
Phidias,  she  had  such  symmetry  of  form.  Her  fingers  were 
manicured.  She  was  dressed  in  the  height  of  fashion  and  her 
hands  were  covered  with  jewels  and  as  I  looked  at  her,  the 
water  trickling  down  her  face,  I  saw  the  mute  evidence  of 
illicit  affection.  I  did  not  say  lust,  I  did  not  say  passion,  I 
did  not  say  brute  instincts.  I  said,  "Sin."  Sin  had  caused 
her  to  throw  herseK  from  that  bridge  and  seek  repose  in  a 
suicide's  grave.  And  as  I  looked,  from  the  saloon,  the  fan- 
tan  rooms,  the  gambling  hells,  the  opium  dens,  the  red 
Hghts,  there  arose  one  endless  cry  of  "How  long,  0  God, 
how  long  shall  hell  prevail?" 

You  can't  argue  against  sin.  It's  here.  Then  listen 
to  me  as  I  try  to  help  you. 

When  the  Standard  Oil  Company  was  trying  to  refine 
petroleima  there  was  a  substance  that  they  couldn't  dispose 
of.  It  was  a  dark,  black,  sticky  substance  and  they 
couldn't  bmy  it,  couldn't  biun  it  because  it  made  such  a 
stench;  they  couldn't  run  it  in  the  river  because  it  killed  the 
fish,  so  they  offered  a  big  reward  to  any  chemist  who  would 
solve  the  problem.  Chemists  took  it  and  worked  long  over 
the  problem,  and  one  day  there  walked  into  the  office  of 
John  D.  Rockefeller,  a  chemist  and  laid  down  a  pure  white 
substance  which  we  since  know  as  paraffine. 

You  can  be  as  black  as  that  substance  and  yet  Jesus 
Christ  can  make  you  white  as  snow.  "Though  your  sins  be 
as  scarlet  they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow." 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 
The  Amusement  Question 

The  church  gives  people  what  they  need;  the  theater  gives  them  what 
they  want. — Billy  Sunday. 

ONE  of  the  sensations  of  a  Billy  Sunday  campaign  is 
his  sei-mon,  "Amusements."  Usually  it  has  to  be 
repeated  more  than  once.  It  ahnost  equals  the 
"Booze"  sermon  in  popularity. 

In  this,  as  in  many  other  semions,  the  evangelist  dares 
to  run  directly  counter  to  the  drift  of  the  times.  It  is 
generally  agreed  that  the  practice  of  what  is  called  "doubtful 
amusements"  is  on  the  increase  among  church  members. 
Some  denominations  which  have  prohibited  dancing,  card- 
playing  and  theater-going,  have  either  removed  the  restric- 
tion or  have  retained  it  only  by  a  narrow  margin  of  votes  in 
their  highest  courts. 

All  this  matters  not  one  whit  to  Sunday.  And  he 
certainly  has  given  thorough-going  attention  to  the  subject. 
But  to  the  sermon  itself: 

"AMUSEMENTS" 

I  suppose  some  may  wince  at  the  plainness  with  which 
I  speak,  but  remember  it  costs  me  severe  pangs  of  regret  to 
be  compelled  to  do  it.  If  the  ingenious  skill  of  the  devil 
is  to  be  defeated  there  is  but  one  of  two  alternatives  open 
to  the  man  who  assaults  the  most  hell-soaked  institution 
with  grit  and  com*age.  He  can  consume  his  energy  and  time 
in  talking  about  the  minor  usages  of  the  possible  limits  one 
might  go,  or  he  can  peel  the  bark  away  and  show  the  thing 
full  of  worm-holes  and  run  the  risk  of  losing  his  reputation 
for  fairness. 

I  want  to  say  that  I  have  wdlfully  and  dehberately,  and 

2t  (433) 


434  THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION 

with  malice  aforethought,  chosen  the  latter  course.  I  don't 
care  a  rap  what  you  think  about  it  before  I  begin,  or  after  I 
am  through.    I  have  no  apology  to  make. 

I  have  a  message  that  bums  its  way  into  your  soul,  and 
into  my  heart.  My  words  may  be  strong,  and  if  they  are 
you  must  remember  they  are  blood-red  with  conviction. 
With  a  cry  of  lost  souls  ringing  in  my  ears,  I  cannot  remain 
still.    I  must  cry  out. 

If  I  can  save  one  from  going  to  hell,  I  consider  myself 
well  paid  for  all  the  vituperation  and  malediction  that  you 
can  hurl  against  me  because  I  rubbed  it  into  your  pet  sins. 
Judged  in  the  court  of  himian  desires,  I  might  be  condemned 
by  everybody  that  wants  to  do  it,  but  judged  in  the  court  of 
human  conscience,  I  will  receive  a  universal  verdict. 

We  always  associate  in  our  minds  certain  amusements — 
the  theater,  cards,  and  the  dance.  While  some  will  justify 
one,  others  will  condemn  it.  Some  who  play  cards  will  seek 
to  justify  that  and  condemn  the  theater,  and  those  who  go  to 
the  theater  may  condemn  the  cards. 

The  Case  of  the  Theater 

In  my  opinion,  the  theater  is  of  such  doubtful  character 
that  it  has  been  relegated  to  the  class  of  forbidden  amuse- 
ments. You  know  that  the  theater  had  its  beginning  in  the 
church,  and  was  intended  to  be  the  handmaid  of  rehgion. 
It  produced  so  much  fuss  and  trouble  that  they  were  com- 
pelled to  drop  it.  Unless  the  theater  is  redeemed  it  will 
fall  by  its  own  stinking  rottenness.  The  devil  employs  all 
kinds  of  engines  in  scattering  seeds  of  evil  through  this  old 
world,  and  if  I  can  only  pirnip  into  you  enough  common  sense 
to  keep  you  away  from  the  theater  and  card-playing  and  the 
dance,  I  will  have  no  kick  coming. 

I  want  it  distinctly  understood  that  my  scrap  is  not 
with  the  theater  as  an  institution.  I  fight  the  saloon  as  an 
institution,  but  not  the  theater.  What  I  am  against,  ham- 
mer and  tongs,  are  the  things  that  the  theater  stands  for, 
and  the  rot  and  filth  and  rubbish  and  trash  that  are  spewed 


THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION  435 

out  over  the  stage.  If  the  theater  wants  my  friendship  it'll 
have  to  clean  up. 

I  have  a  cUpping  from  a  Denver  paper.  In  it  Anna 
Held  says  that  the  conditions  in  the  theater  are  such  today 
that  she  wouldn't  advise  any  young  girl  to  go  on  the  stage, 
but  that  she  would  advise  any  young  girl  to  shun  the  stage 
as  she  would  disease  or  poison.  And  Anna  Held  must  know 
something  about  the  stage.  She  is  one  of  our  best-known 
actresses  and  she  has  been  mixed  up  in  the  sort  of  shows  that 
ought  to  give  her  the  inside  of  the  business.  She  says  that 
theatrical  people,  especially  in  most  of  the  musical  plays, 
are  at  the  mercy  of  the  owners  of  the  theaters  and  the  shows, 
and  you  find  a  half  dozen  miUionaires,  not  to  mention  a 
bunch  of  other  rich  men,  hanging  aroimd  the  theaters. 

If  you  want  obscenity  you  will  find  it  in  the  theater.  If 
you  want  to  see  character  destroyed,  you  will  find  that,  both 
behind  and  before  the  footlights.  Your  show  has  to  be 
tainted  in  order  to  gather  in  the  coin.  The  capacity  for 
amusing  people  along  decent  lines  seems  to  have  gone  by. 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  all  plays  and  all  actors  are 
rotten.  But  you  will  have  to  hunt  pretty  hard  to  find  those 
that  are  not.  Four  fifths  of  the  modem  plays  are  immoral 
and  lascivious,  and  I  can  prove  it  by  the  billboards.  I  don't 
have  to  go  see  them.  And  the  obscene  play  has  been  supple- 
mented in  many  places  by  the  immoral  picture  show. 

They  will  tell  you  that  there  is  money  in  the  theater. 
Well,  there's  money  in  highway  robbery  and  there's  money 
in  prostitution  and  there's  money  in  the  saloon.  Sure, 
there's  money  in  it.  What  I  want  to  drive  home  to  you  is 
the  fact  that  the  church  and  the  theater  have  nothing  in 
common.  They  won't  mix.  The  theater  will  give  you 
what  you  want  and  the  chm'ch  will  give  you  what  you  need. 
There's  a  big  difference  between  want  and  need. 

You'll  find  the  theater  trafficking  in  illicit  love — why, 
that's  the  basis  of  the  average  play — and  yet  they  call  it 
"art."  You  will  find  divorce  smeared  all  over  the  stage, 
and  adultery   not  even  lurking  in  the  flies.       Because  it 


486  THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION 

happens  to  be  behind  the  footUghts  they  call  it  art.  Come 
to  me  and  I'll  tell  you  privately  what  I  think  of  it. 

The  time  is  long  past  when  any  number  of  serious- 
minded  citizens  look  to  the  theater  for  entertainment  or 
instruction.  Crude  melodramas,  mawkish  plays  and  hter- 
ary  clap-trap  form- the  staple  production  of  the  average 
theater. 

All  plays  are  not  bad.  Who  said  they  were?  But  a 
man  runs  no  small  risk  trying  to  see  anything  elevating  in  the 
theater.  Booth  and  Garrick,  two  of  the  greatest  tragedians, 
would  not  allow  their  own  children  to  go  to  the  theater. 
Macready,  one  of  the  famous  EngUsh  tragedians,  would  not 
allow  his  wife  or  children  to  see  a  play  unless  he  had  first  read 
or  seen  it,  and  passed  upon  it,  as  to  whether  or  not  it  was 
fit  to  see.  Those  were  men  who  had  some  character,  and 
left  honor  and  high  standing  after  them. 

You  say  that  the  theater  has  power.  Certainly ;  nobody 
denies  that.  The  theaters  of  Chicago  are  worth  between 
$30,000,000  and  $40,000,000,  but  nobody  will  defend  the 
theater  because  it  has  power.  Nobody  defends  the  whisky 
business  because  it  has  unlimited  capital  back  of  it.  Not 
for  a  minute. 

An  actress  whose  name  I  will  not  give  said  this:  "After 
years  on  the  stage  I  am  convinced  that  the  theatrical  busi- 
ness is  the  most  corrupt  in  the  world." 

It  is  corrupting  educationally,  commercially  and  mor- 
ally. It  is  upon  the  charred  souls  of  women  that  most  of  the 
men  who  are  a  power  in  the  theatrical  world  have  climbed 
to  their  height. 

Cyrus  Townsend  Brady,  the  famous  author,  went  to 
twenty-one  plays — ^picked  ones — and  out  of  the  twenty-one 
there  were  only  eight  that  were  unobjectionable,  and  two  of 
the  twenty-one  were  grand  opera.  It  is  almost  impossible 
to  find  in  the  theater  decency  and  purity. 

The  only  way  to  reform  the  theater  is  to  turn  it  into 
something  else.  The  chiu*ch  stands  for  what  is  right,  and  the 
theater  cares  very  little  for  what  is  right  and  helpful.    Israel 


THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION  437 

Zangwill  says  that  the  playwright  gets  up  his  productions 
to  satisfy  the  lust  of  the  age  and  not  for  what  good  they  will 
do  the  world.  x4j-chbishop  Lennan  said  that  to  go  night 
after  night  to  the  theater  is  a  mark  of  decadence. 

You  would  avoid  the  pest  house  and  lepers  and  yet 
night  after  night  you  will  rush  to  the  theater  to  enjoy  this 
procession  of  moral  lepers,  exposed  on  the  stage  for  the 
plaudits  of  the  people.  The  rogue  and  scoundrelism  and 
man's  infidehty  form  the  groundwork  of  most  plays.  These 
are  paraded  before  the  people  as  exhibition  of  genius  and  fit 
for  art. 

When  the  church  quits  pom-ing  money  into  that  busi- 
ness it  will  stop,  and  when  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ  stops 
voting  for  the  whisky  business,  and  drinking,  and  playing 
cards,  and  going  to  the  theater,  and  stops  dancing,  you  Imow 
that  those  things  will  die.  The  rottenest  things  on  earth  have 
their  existence  because  of  the  indulgence  of  the  church. 

You  sow  bridge  whist  and  auction  bridge  and  five 
hundred  in  the  home  and  you  reap  a  crop  of  gamblers. 

You  sow  the  dance  and  the  ballroom  and  you  reap  a  crop 
of  brothels. 

You  sow  saloons  and  you  reap  a  harvest  of  drunkards. 

You  must  want  a  lot  of  prostitutes  or  you  wouldn't 
sow  dances;  you  must  want  a  lot  of  drunkards  or  you 
wouldn't  sow  saloons,  and  you  must  want  a  bunch  of  gam- 
blers or  you  wouldn't  play  cards  in  your  home.  If  you've  got 
any  cards  in  yom*  home  you'd  better  throw  them  in  the 
furnace  when  you  get  back  there  or  else  throw  your  Bible 
in  the  furnace.    The  two  won't  mix. 

I  defy  anybody  to  contradict  what  I  have  to  say  about 
the  matter. 

Somebody  saj'^s:  "What  is  the  matter  with  that 
preacher?     Doesn't  he  beheve  in  amusement?" 

There  is  not  a  man  in  the  world  who  beheves  in  amuse- 
ments more  than  I  do.  But  I  believe  that  they  should  be 
recreative  and  harmless.  Nobody  believes  more  in  amuse- 
ments than  I. 


438  THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION 

What  games  do  I  play?  Well,  I  play,  or  used  to  play, 
base  ball.  I  like  golf.  Lawn  tennis  is  all  right,  too,  but  it's 
a  httle  too  sissified  to  suit  me.  Then  I  play  checkers  and 
dominoes  and  chess — oh,  there  are  scads  of  games  you  can 
play  that  are  recreative  and  harmless. 

The  Gambler's  Tools 

Ever  since  the  day  that  cards  were  invented  to  satisfy 
the  whims  of  an  idiotic  king  they  have  been  the  tools  of  the 
gambler.  Many  a  boy  is  inveigled  into  a  gambling  room 
and  sees  the  roulette  wheel,  the  faro  bank  and  the  keno,  and 
listens  to  the  ribaldry  and  the  jest  and  the  blasphemy,  and  he 
is  reminded  of  home. 

What  a  wonderful  heritage  to  bequeath  to  a  boy!  To 
have  him  go  into  a  hell-hole  Hke  that  and  have  it  remind  him 
of  home! 

Men  who  have  been  spending  their  funds  and  hves  to 
ferret  these  things  out  tell  us  that  nine  tenths  of  the  gamblers 
are  taught  in  their  homes  by  their  mothers,  or  eighty  per 
cent  of  them  first  learned  gambhng  in  the  homes  of  professing 
Christian  people.  When  I  talk  to  you  about  card-playing 
in  your  home  I  am  trying  to  pound  through  your  head  that 
every  pack  of  cards  is  but  another  stepping-stone  to  hell. 

The  Chicago  Civic  Federation,  which  was  forced  into 
existence  at  the  close  of  the  World's  Fair,  because  after  the 
fair  was  over  Chicago  was  the  Mecca  for  gamblers,  found 
that  out  of  3200  gamblers  nine  tenths  had  learned  in  their 
homes,  and  eight  out  of  ten  in  the  homes  of  professing 
Christian  people.  I  tell  you  it  takes  a  woman  with  more  than 
ordinary  brass  to  stand  up  and  defend  these  things. 

Did  you  ever  hear  of  John  P.  Quinn,  the  converted 
gambler?  I  remember,  when  I  was  secretary  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  I  got  John  to  come  out  and  give  a  series  of  talks. 
John  was  for  forty-five  years  a  professional  faro-bank  dealer 
and  poker  player.  He  was  among  five  men  that  were  paid  a 
salary  of  $7000  a  year.  They  were  expert  faro-bank  dealers 
and  draw-and-stud  poker  players.     He  was  arrested  for 


THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION  439 

working  a  three-card  monte  game  on  some  fellows  and  had  to 
do  time  at  Jefferson ville,  and  while  there  his  house  burned 
down  and  his  wife  died  and  his  Uttle  girl  died.  There  he  was, 
a  prematurely  old  man.    He  fell  on  his  knees  crying: 

"O  God,  if  you  will  only  get  me  out  I  will  promise  to 
quit  gambling  and  go  up  and  down  the  land  and  show  the 
people  that  they  can't  beat  a  gambler  at  his  own  game!" 

God  heard  him  and  he  went  out.  Some  of  his  friends 
took  up  a  collection  and  got  him  a  private  car  and  fitted  it 
up  with  aU  the  gamblers'  paraphemaha,  gambling  games 
which  he  used  in  exposing  the  whole  business  in  all  its  forms. 
He  went  all  over  the  country,  holding  meetings  against 
gambling.  I  see  Quinn  leaning  over  the  pulpit  and  crying 
to  the  crowd,  after  forty-five  years  a  professional  gambler, 
saying  that  he  was  taught  to  play  cards  in  a  Christian  home. 
I  charge  in  behalf  of  the  poor  gambler  that  the  so-called 
Christian  homes  are  the  kindergartens  of  gambling. 

I  was  in  a  town  in  Iowa  preaching  when  there  were 
some  fellows  home  from  college  who  had  rented  some  rooms 
and  called  them  clubrooms.  This  club  was  injuring  the  young 
men  of  the  town  so  that  the  merchants  would  not  employ 
them.    They  said: 

*'Mr.  Sunday,  can't  you  stop  it?" 

I  found  that  out  of  fifteen  young  fellows  that  composed 
that  club  fourteen  came  from  Christian  homes,  and  all  but 
one  of  the  fourteen  had  been  taught  to  play  cards  by  their 
mothers.  And  some  of  the  meanest,  most  scurrilous  and 
derogatory  things  said  about  me  in  that  town  fell  from  the 
lips  of  those  women. 

A  man  in  Chicago  in  the  Methodist  Church,  was  going 
around  the  country  visiting  prisons,  and  a  woman  came  to 
him  and  said:  "You  are  going  to  Auburn  penitentiary;  will 
you  take  this  and  give  it  to  my  son?" 

She  handed  him  a  photograph,  with  these  words  written 
on  the  bottom:   "With  love,  Mother." 

When  he  reached  the  prison  he  saw  the  young  man  and 
handed  him  the  picture  and  said: 


440  I'HE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION 

"I  saw  your  mother  and  she  asked  me  to  bring  you  this 
picture." 

The  prisoner  looked  at  it  and  said:' 

"That  is  mother.  There  are  wrinkles  in  her  face,  not 
there  the  last  time  that  I  saw  her." 

"Yes,  your  mother  is  aging  fast." 

The  young  man  said: 

"You  take  that  picture  back,  and  give  it  to  my  mother, 
and  tell  her  I  never  want  to  see  her.  She  taught  me  to  play 
cards  and  I  killed  a  man  at  a  gambling  table,  and  am  serving 
fifteen  years  to  pay  for  it.  Now  she  has  the  audacity  to  send 
me  her  picture  after  she  pushed  me  behind  the  prison  bars." 

I  say  it  may  not  injure  you,  but  it  is  danming  others. 
Many  a  boy  leaves  home  and  goes  to  board  in  some  misera- 
ble, no-account-church-member  family.  The  first  night 
they  draw  out  a  card  table  and  take  out  a  deck  of  cards  and 
say: 

"Won't  you  piaj'-  a  game  with  us?" 

"No,  my  mother  taught  me  not  to  play." 

They  laugh  at  his  ignorance.  Time  rolls  on,  and  he 
comes  to  think  a  good  deal  of  one  of  the  girls  in  the  house, 
and  one  night  she  says:  "Won't  you  play  a  game  of  cards 
with  me?" 

But  he  says:    "I  don't  care  to  play  cards." 

She  turns  her  dove-like  eyes  upon  him,  and  with  her 
raven  tresses  and  teeth  like  pearls  (that  is  a  tough  place  to 
put  a  fellow  in!)  she  smiles,  and  he  wilts.  Many  a  fellow 
can  stand  up  and  fight  with  his  dukes  till  the  cows  come  home, 
but  when  some  pretty  girl  looks  at  him,  gazelle-like,  his 
knees  begin  to  shake.  He  learns  rapidly,  and  becomes 
expert. 

I  have  just  as  much  respect  for  the  old  gambler  who  will 
bet  his  last  sou  as  for  the  women  who  will  sit  around  in  their 
homes  and  play  cards  for  prizes.  They  are  just  as  truly 
degenerate  blackleg  gamblers  as  the  gambler  in  the  gambling 
hell.  They  ought  to  be  put  in  the  calaboose  with  the  rest 
of  the  gamblers. 


THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION  441 

You  have  no  right  to  find  fault  with  the  city  officials 
when  they  don't  suppress  gambling,  when  a  thing  so  near 
akin  to  it  is  carried  on  right  in  your  own  home.  A  seemingly 
estimable  woman  will  tear  and  snort  and  pout  through  an 
afternoon.  What  for?  I  mean  the  diamond-wearing 
bunch;  the  automobile  bimch;  the  silk-gowned — that's  the 
bunch.  So  she  can  take  home  a  dinky  cream  pitcher  or 
whisk-broom! 

In  a  town  where  I  was  preaching  they  had  all  the  parties 
early  to  get  them  off  their  hands  before  I  came.  They  had  a 
big  affair,  and  the  prize  was  a  cut-glass  dish,  and  a  woman 
worked  and  sweated  and  Ked  and  cheated,  and  took  pro- 
gressions which  she  didn't  win,  and  then  she  lost  the  dish 
by  two  points. 

She  was  sick  in  bed  for  two  days.  Now  listen!  She 
had  a  lumbering  big  boy,  a  good-for-nothing  lobster.  One 
morning  Harold — that's  what  she  called  the  kid — came  in 
after  stajdng  out  all  night.    He  kissed  her  and  said : 

"Here,  ma.  Here  is  a  gold  piece.  Take  that  and  go 
down  to  the  jeweler's  and  get  a  cut-glass  dish  like  that  prize. 
I  won  it  up  at  Richardson's  last  night." 

She  said:  "My  boy!  I  take  a  gold  piece  that  you  won 
at  gambling  to  buy  a  cut-glass  dish?" 

He  told  her  that  it  was  just  the  same  to  buy  a  prize  with 
tile  money  won  at  gambhng  as  to  win  the  prize.  She 
immediately  burned  every  pack  of  cards  in  her  house  and  not 
long  after  was  converted.  She  said  to  me  afterward:  "I 
was  just  as  low-down  as  that  man  Richardson  was,  whom  I 
had  looked  at  with  horror." 

"But,"  some  woman  says,  "Mr.  Smiday,  I  am  teaching 
my  boy  to  play  cards  so  that  when  he  grows  up  he  won't 
want  to  play  cards." 

I  have  heard  that;  but  say,  why  don't  you  send  your 
daughter  to  live  in  a  brothel  so  that  she  won't  want  to  be 
a  prostitute  when  she  grows  up?  You  are  a  fool  and  a  jack- 
ass to  talk  that  way.  Your  argument  won't  hold  water 
three  minutes. 


442  THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION 

I  don't  care  whether  you  play  cards  for  a  cream  pitcher 
or  for  a  gold  piece,  you're  a  blackleg  gambler  just  the  same. 
Boys  flip  pemiies  on  the  street  and  the  cops  pinch  them. 
Yet  you'd  be  just  as  much  a  haul  for  the  poHceas  though  they 
backed  the  patrol  wagon  up  in  front  of  a  gambling  den 
instead  of  your  home. 

You  say,  "It  will  never  get  me."  All  right;  but  it  will 
get  others.  So  you  ought  to  refrain  from  gambling  for  the 
sake  of  other  people  whom  your  example  might  lead  astray. 
I  haven't  had  a  pack  of  cards  in  my  hands  for  over  thirty 
years. 

Now,  I'm  not  trying  to  cram  anything  down  your 
throats.  I  am  appealing  to  your  sense  of  reason  and  decency, 
and  if  you  are  not  man  or  woman  enough  to  Usten  I  guess 
God  Almighty  doesn't  need  you. 

If  this  world  was  made  up  of  only  one  family  I  probably 
would  not  need  to  preach  this  sermon.  But,  fortunately 
or  unfortunately,  we  are  made  up  of  many  famiUes.  If 
you  are  lax  in  the  care  of  your  children  it  makes  it  harder  for 
me  to  take  care  of  mine.  If  you  don't  care  whether  your 
children  go  to  the  devil,  and  I  do  care,  you  make  it  that 
much  harder  for  me  to  keep  my  children  right. 

Dances,  Old  and  New 

There  was  a  time  in  America  when  the  stately  cotillion 
seemed  to  satisfy  America,  but  it  is  too  slow  for  the  hot  blood 
of  the  twentieth  century.  They  must  have  something  that 
will  chase  hurdles  through  their  veins.  There  is  nothing 
that  is  so  insipid  for  the  devotee  of  the  waltz  as  to  dance  a 
quadrille. 

I  am  asked  to  give  a  reason  to  the  unsaved,  why  they 
should  not  do  it.  The  Church  of  God  forbids.  The  greatest 
and  the  most  spiritual  churches  forbid  it,  and  are  against 
it — Catholic,  Presbyterian,  Congregational,  the  United 
Brethren  and  the  Christians  are  all  against  it.  The  Metho- 
dist Church  was  raised  up  for  the  very  purpose  of  counter- 
acting the  dance  in  the  church.  If  you're  boimd  to  dance, 
then  get  a  divorce  from  Jesus  Christ. 


THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION  443 

God  called  Wesley  to  purify  the  Anglican  Church,  and 
that  movement  which  crystalhzed  in  the  Methodist  Church 
was  the  rebuke  which  God  gave.  From  that  day  until 
this  the  church  has  hurled  sermons  against  these  things  until 
it  is  a  generally  accepted  truism  that  men  and  women  who 
do  not  oppose  the  devil  are  too  big  cowards  to  pose  as 
spiritual  leaders,  or  they  are  too  ignorant  to  teach  God's 
people. 

I  know  there  are  some  churches  that  tolerate  it — they 
don't  encourage  it — and  any  church  that  encourages  it  is 
too  low-dowTi  to  deserve  the  name. 

Listen,  I  will  take  the  oldest  church  in  Christendom — 
the  Roman  Catholic.  Do  you  think  that  you  can  be  a 
CathoUc  and  do  that?  I  will  give  you  a  quotation  from 
a  letter  from  the  bishops  and  the  archbishops  in  plenary 
council : 

"In  this  connection  we  consider  it  our  duty  to  warn  our 
members  against  this  amusement,  which  may  become  to 
them  an  occasion  of  sin,  especially  the  fashionable  dance, 
which  is  disgusting  and  revolting  and  fraught  with  the 
greatest  danger  to  morals." 

A  friend  of  mine  was  going  on  the  boat  from  New 
Orleans  to  Havana,  and  among  the  passengers  was  a  Jesuit 
priest.  They  got  to  talking  reUgion,  and  of  course  the  priest 
stood  for  the  Cathohc  Church  and  my  friend  took  the 
Protestant  side,  and  asked  him: 

''Why  is  it  that  the  Cathohc  Church  is  getting  stronger 
every  day  in  its  opposition  to  worldly  amusements,  especially 
the  dance?" 

The  priest  said:  "It  is  another  argmnent  in  favor  of 
the  confessional.  By  that  we  can  tell  how  our  people  fall. 
We  can  trace  the  laxity  of  nineteen  out  of  every  twenty  who 
have  lost  their  purity  to  the  ballroom." 

Listen  to  me!  Are  you  here.  Episcopalians?  The 
Episcopal  Church  is  the  best  organized  church  in  the  United 
States.  If  it  were  only  evangeHstic,  with  its  money  and 
power  and  social  position,  there  is  not  a  church  in  the  world 


444  THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION 

that  could  do  more  good  than  the  Episcopal.  Bishop  Hop- 
kins, of  Vermont,  said :  ''  Dancing  is  a  terrible  waste  of  time 
and  of  study  and  a  premature  inc.itement  of  passion." 

Bishop  Cox,  of  New  York,  said:  ''The  enormities  of  the 
theater  and  the  dance  would  not  be  tolerated  another  minute 
if  the  mothers  would  only  set  their  faces  against  them." 
Classes  preparing  for  confirmation  are  notified  by  him  that 
he  will  not  lay  hand  upon  them  unless  they  are  prepared  to 
renounce  their  sins. 

Bishop  Vincent,  of  the  Methodist  Church,  says  that 
"The  waltz  would  not  be  tolerated  if  Christian  mothers 
would  only  set  their  faces  against  it  and  remove  their  daugh- 
ters from  this  contamination." 

Alas!  that  wom^n  professing  to  follow  Christ  should  not 
rally  for  the  honor  of  our  daughters  and  drive  these  things 
from  society. 

I  have  never  known  a  Baptist  or  Congregationahst 
preacher  worth  a  snap  of  his  fingers  who  didn't  cry  out 
against  the  dance.  Iliat  was  on  their  own  initiative,  too. 
You  tell  us  that  young  people  must  sow  their  wild  oats.  Oh, 
away  with  such  spiritual  rot!  You  can't  sow  sin  and  reap 
virtue. 

I  do  not  know  of  anything  that  is  wrong  for  a  church 
member  to  do  that  is  not  equally  wrong  for  those  that  are  not 
church  members  to  do.  The  only  difference  between  the 
church  member  and  the  worldling  is  that  the  church  member 
had  promised  to  refrain  and  you  have  not. 

You  say:  "Mr.  Sunday,  the  church  is  too  strict  with 
us." 

Who  can  charge  the  church  with  being  too  strict  with 
its  yoimg  people?  Any  old  lobster  with  two  or  three  suits 
of  clothes  and  a  bank  account  can  break  into  most  any  church. 
If  one  church  won't  take  him,  another  will.  I  tell  you  that 
the  church  loves  her  young  people  and  is  indulgent  with 
them  and  hopes  that  they  will  increase  in  common  sense 
as  they  grow  in  years. 

The  dancing  Christian  never  was  a  soul-winner. 


THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION  445 

The  dance  is  simply  a  hugging  match  set_to  music. 
The  dance  is  a  sexual  love-feast. 

This  crusade  against  the  dance  is  for  everybody — ^not 
merely  for  the  preacher  or  the  old  man  or  woman  who  couldn't 
dance  if  they  wanted  to,  but  for  everybody  interested  in 
morals,  whether  in  the  church,  or  out  of  the  church.  I  am 
preaching  a  seimon  that  Jew  or  Gentile,  CathoUc  or  Prot- 
estant, infidel  oi 'Christian,  if  he  wants  better  morals,  can 
indorse. 

One  time  I  was  helping  Doctor  Chapman  in  New  Jersey, 
and  some  young  woman  said:  ''There  is  a  girl  over  there; 
see  if  you  can  help  her." 

She  had  hair  like  a  raven's  wing,  Grecian  nose  and  great 
big  brown  eyes,  oval  face  and  olive  complexion  and  long 
tapering  fingers — a  giil  that  one  would  tm-n  to  look  at  a 
second  time.  I  found  her  on  her  knees  crying,  and  I  said 
to  her:   "What  is  the  matter?" 

"I  love  to  do  things  that  you  preach  against." 

"Oh,  you  poor,  httle,  fooHsh  dancer!  You  have  heard 
the  voice  of  Jesus  and  you  feel  yourself  drawn  and  almost 
ready  to  throw  yourself  into  his  arms  and  say,  'I  surrender 
all,'  and  just  that  time  you  hear  the  caller  say,  'Get  yoiu* 
partners  for  a  quadrille,'  and  you  say,  'Good-bye,  Jesus,  I 
have  got  to  go  dance  with  this  little  dude.'  " 

She  got  up,  and  her  brown  dress  switched  around  the 
door-jamb  like  a  fox's  tail  around  a  brush  heap. 

There  was  a  little  preacher  there  that  didn't  beheve 
in  preaching  against  amusements.  He  thought  that  that 
was  a  matter  of  conscience.  He  was  a  Httle  two-by-four, 
sawed-off  preacherette,  and  he  talked  to  her. 

After  a  while  we  went  to  Brooklyn,  and  one  morning  I 
picked  up  the  New  York  World  and  saw  a  picture  of  a  woman 
and  read  of  a  man  who  was  foreman  in  a  factory  where  she 
worked.  His  wife  had  gone  to  Salamanca,  N.  Y.,  and  while 
there  their  two  children  had  been  taken  with  diphtheria. 
The  factory  employees  were  getting  up  their  annual  ball  and 
this  girl  went  with  the  foreman. 


446  THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION 

They  were  infatuated  with  each  other  and  they  made  an 
agreement  that  she  should  go  home  with  him  for  the  night. 
He  had  got  a  gas  stove,  and  the  rubber  hose  was  too  short, 
and  he  had  tried  to  sphce  it  with  the  garden  hose.  About 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  waked  up  with  a  stifling 
feeling  and  rushed  to  the  window  and  opened  it,  and  was 
hanging  out  when  a  poHceman  went  by. 

The  officer  burst  open  the  door,  and  rushed  in,  and 
found  the  girl  lying  there.  He  dragged  her  to  the  window. 
They  got  three  doctors;  worked  over  her  for  hours.  At 
last  she  just  became  conscious  enough  to  look  around  and 
say: 

"My  God,  what  have  I  done?"  and  she  fell  back  dead. 

That  was  the  girl  that  I  tried  to  convert  in  the  Baptist 
church  in  Passaic,  N.  J. 

I  had  rather  have  twelve  women  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  than  a  hundred  theater-gadders,  wine-guzzlers  and 
frivolous  dancers.  What  under  God's  heaven  do  you  amount 
to?  The  church  is  honeycombed  with  the  rottenness  of 
society.  Somebody  has  got  to  come  out  and  run  the  risk  of 
incurring  your  displeasure. 

One  time  out  in  Iowa  a  woman  said  she  couldn't  attend 
the  revival  meetings  because  she  had  a  new-born  babe.  Yes, 
but  she  went  miles  to  a  literary  society.  She  did  not  nurse 
the  baby,  anyhow,  but  hired  a  nurse  to  care  for  it.  She 
learned  that  the  meetings  would  probably  spoil  a  dance  they 
had  planned,  and  resolved  to  have  the  dance  anyhow.  She 
hired  a  team  and  drove  miles  and  miles,  calling  on  those  she 
had  been  told  were  wavering  in  favor  of  the  meeting. 

The  team  that  she  was  driving  had  not  been  out  for  a 
week  and  was  full  of  life.  Going  down  the  street  the  team 
began  to  run,  and  she  sawed  on  the  lines  and  tried  to  keep  the 
horses  going  straight,  but  they  came  to  a  comer  and  around 
went  the  carriage  on  two  wheels.  The  occupants  were  thrown 
out  and  struck  the  pavement  as  if  they  had  been  shot  out 
of  a  mortar.  The  woman  struck  the  curbstone  and  was 
knocked  senseless  and  one  young  man  was  killed.      She 


THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION  447 

was  in  a  comatose  state  for  two  hours,  and  three  physicians 
worked  over  her.     At  last  she  opened  her  eyes  and  said : 

"My  God!  Save  me  for  my  baby's  sake,  and  I'll 
never  dance  again  as  long  as  I  hve." 

Say,  if  God  Almighty  gives  you  a  rap  on  the  back  of  the 
head  and  shakes  the  shroud  over  your  old  carcass  and  tele- 
phones for  the  undertaker  to  come  and  measm-e  you  for  your 
coflSn,  you  will  begin  to  whine  and  sniffle  and  cry  to  God  like 
a  sick  cat.  I  am  preaching  moraUty  here,  and  I'm  not 
bothering  about  your  opinion. 

Every  good  man  and  woman  carries  in  his  or  her  breast 
passions  the  same  as  bad  men  and  women  carry,  and  thus 
your  breast  becomes  a  tinder-box,  and  you  ought  to  be  care- 
ful where  you  go  and  what  you  do,  lest  you  ignite  it  and  there 
be  an  explosion  and  the  wreck  of  your  purity  and  manhood 
and  womanhood.  And  I  tell  you  the  girl  that  sidesteps  and 
loses  her  reputation  will  have  an  awful  time  getting  it  back. 
Women  generally  are  like  a  pack  of  wolves.  When  one  falls 
at  the  wayside  they  stop  just  long  enough  to  get  a  look  and 
rend  her  to  pieces. 

The  dance  is  the  moral  graveyard  of  more  girls  than 
anything  else  in  the  world.  The  dance  is  the  dry  rot  of 
society.  I  say  it  is  immoral.  A  society  woman  said  that 
in  the  ballroom  men  took  Hberties  with  her  that  they  would 
not  dare  take  any  place  elseor  underanyothercircumstances. 
Certainly !  Perhaps  the  parties  you  have  attended  have  been 
free  from  immoral  tendencies  which  have  characterized 
others.  Does  not  the  swinging  of  the  partners  in  the  square 
dance  bring  the  bodies  of  the  partners  into  a  position  that 
would  not  be  tolerated  in  decent  society,  or  anywhere  else, 
or  under  any  other  circumstances? 

Do  you  know  that  three  fourths  of  all  the  girls  who  are 
ruined  owe  their  downfall  to  that  very  thing?  You  let  a 
young  man  whose  character  would  make  a  black  mark  on 
a  piece  of  tar  paper,  who  ''goes  down  the  line"  every  other 
night,  dance  with  your  daughter,  and  see  what  happens. 

Are  you  a  mother?     And  you  chaperone  yom-  daugh- 


448  THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION 

ter  and  groom  her,  and  you  shove  her  in  front  of  every  mar- 
riageable buck,  and  you  accompany  her  to  the  ballroom,  and 
you  stand  there  and  look  at  her  with  your  head  cocked  on 
one  side,  and  see  a  young  fellow  come  up  and  wrap  his  arms 
around  her,  and  you  tell  me  there  is  no  harm  in  it?  You 
must  be  made  out  of  brass  or  wood  or  putty  or  marble. 

Listen  to  me,  girls.  I  have  never  yet  and  never  will 
flatly  contradict  the  man  or  the  woman  that  tells  me  that 
he  or  she  dances  and  never  knew  of  premature  incitement  of 
passion.  I  say  that  I  will  never  contradict  them,  but  I  will 
say  then:  "Thank  God;  and  get  out  of  it  right  now,  for  the 
next  time  you  may." 

The  dance  is  the  hotbed  of  immorality,  and  I  unflinch- 
ingly denounce  it  as  one  of  the  greatest  social  evils  in  the 
world. 

Do  you  remember  that  crusade  we  had  in  Chicago  to  put 
out  the  dirty,  stinking  dancing  halls  and  the  Saturday-night 
dance?  They  wanted  beer  permits  and  went  before  the 
city  coimcils,  and  that  whisky  gang  fought  right  and  left, 
and  why?    Just  for  the  privilege  of  selling  whisky  there. 

People  were  brought  with  statistics  and  Jean  Cowgill, 
head  of  the  home  for  fallen  girls  at  Geneva,  said  that  eighty 
per  cent  came  there  because  of  the  dance.  You  can  see  that 
you  are  up  against  it.  You  may  have  been  dancing  inno- 
cently, but  you  can't  now  after  hearing  my  sermon.  If  you 
do  I  will  know  you  are  utterly  insensible  to  pubUc  morals. 

Seven  milUon  girls  go  wrong  in  a  century  in  this  coun- 
try, and  three  fourths  of  them  are  ruined  by  the  dance.  The 
chief  of  poUce  of  New  York  says  three  fourths  of  the  aban- 
doned creatures  there  fell  through  the  dance. 

Where  did  the  drunkard  get  his  first  drink?  In  the 
social  glass.  Where  did  the  gambler  get  his  first  lesson? 
In  somebody's  parlor.  Where  did  the  prostitute  feel  for  the 
first  time  the  premature  incitement  of  passions?  Down  on 
the  ballroom  floor.  Statistics  change  in  the  adjustment,  but 
the  percentage  holds  good  year  after  year. 

There  are  500,000  pubUc  prostitutes  in  the  United 


THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION  449 

States.  Their  average  life  is  from  three  to  five  years.  Three 
hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  fall  as  the  result  of  the 
dance.  Am  I  my  sister's  keeper?  No;  after  you  hear  me 
you're  your  sister's  murderess. 

Sisters!  If  you  countenance  the  dance  you  are  your 
sister's  miu"deress.  You  are  responsible  for  her  fall,  because 
you  could  have  thrown  your  influence  against  it.  You  be- 
come responsible  for  every  fallen  person  as  long  as  you 
champion  the  dance.  You  are  responsible  for  every  rotten 
drunkard  as  long  as  you  vote  for  the  grog  shop. 

Somebody  says:    "Well,  it  don't  harm  me." 

You  with  your  cold,  reserved,  chaste  nature — you 
would  repel  a  man  at  a  glance.  How  about  yom*  sister? 
Let  a  man  put  his  hand  on  her  and  she  will  tremble  all  over 
like  a  glass  of  jelly;  and  speak  to  her,  and  a  blush  will  mantle 
her  cheeks. 

She  will  stand  and  hsten  to  the  honeyed  lies  of  some 
dude  whispered  into  her  ears  while  dancing,  and  should  she 
fall  and  become  his  mistress,  after  ruining  her  life,  he  will  cast 
her  off.  Society  turns  from  her  pleadings  and  she  hides 
herself  in  some  dark  spot  of  a  great  city  and  waits  the  death 
cry  in  her  ears.  Life  is  out  for  her  and  society  stands  with 
outstretched  arms  to  welcome  the  man  who  is  the  triple 
extract  of  the  devil's  essence. 

If  only  you  knew  howjtnany  letters  I  receive  from  mothers 
and  doctors  and  midwives,  from  the  people  called  to  look 
upon  scenes  of  sin  and  see  the  evil  of  the  modem  dance — 
letters  commending  me  and  thanking  me  for  my  courage  and 
because  I  feojlessly  and  uncompromisingly  denounce  all 
these  things  of  high  society! 

If  I  speak  plainly  it  is  because  of  blood-red  conviction; 
and  I  have  the  wail  of  lost  souls  ringing  in  my  heart.  God 
would  damn  me  if  I  didn't  cry  out  against  these  sins. 

We  have  "charity  balls,"  and  I  think  that  they  are  the 
biggest  insult  to  God  Almighty  and  decency  that  God  ever 
looked  at.  Are  you  so  low-down  that  you  would  not  give 
a  dollar  to  charity  unless  they  got  up  a  dance? 

29 


450  THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION 

The  dance  is  conducive  of  immorality.  In  the  dance 
and  on  the  baUroom  floor  you  allow  Uberties  to  men  that 
you  never  allow  elsewhere.  You  grant  them  liberties  on 
the  balboom  floor  that  if  a  man  other  than  your  husband 
would  attempt  in  your  home  and  your  husband  would  find 
you  at  it,  he  would  have  no  trouble  in  securing  a  divorce. 
And  if  he  shot  the  man,  no  jury  in  the  world  would  convict 
him  for  it. 

You  say  you  need  the  exercise  of  dancing.  Passion  is 
the  basis  of  the  popularity  of  the  dance.  Make  men 
dance  by  themselves  and  women  by  themselves  and  it  will 
kill  the  dance  in  a  month.  Men  drink  and  gamble  and  they 
go  to  race-tracks  and  they  bet — all  of  this  they  do  without 
their  wives.  Why  then  can't  they  dance  without  their 
wives,  or  other  people's  wives,  if  exercise  is  the  thing  they 
want? 

The  dance  brings  vice  and  virtue  into  such  close  contact 
that  virtue  is  well  nigh  helpless  and  powerless. 

When  you  die  you  don't  send  for  the  dancing  master  to 
pray  over  you. 

A  young  lady  was  asked  to  give  reasons  for  not  dancing, 
and  she  gave  these: 

"The  dance  would  lead  me  into  crowded  ballrooms  and 
late  hours,  which  would  be  injurious  to  my  health. 

"The  dance  would  lead  me  to  permit  freedom  with  the 
other  sex  of  which  I  would  be  ashamed. 

"Ministers  and  good  people  in  general  are  against  the 
dance,  and  I  think  it  is  not  safe  to  set  myself  against  them. 

"The  dance  has  a  bad  name.  ' 

"The  dance  is  usually  accompanied  with  drinking. 

"I  am  told  that  the  dance  is  a  temptation  and  a  snare 
to  young  men,  and  the  dance  unfits  the  mind  for  serious 
reflection  and  prayer." 

"There  is  plenty  of  healthful  exercise  in  which  we  may 
indulge  and  things  which  may  be  done  to  the  glory  of  God, 
and  I  think  that  the  dance  would  be  an  insult  to  God,  and 
I  don't  propose  to  do  anything  that  would  insult  the  Lord." 


THE  AMUSEMENT  QUESTION  451 

No  wonder  the  world  is  not  being  brought  to  Jesus 
Christ! 

People  say  to  me:  "Well,  didn't  they  dance  in  the 
Bible?"  Yes,  they  danced  in  the  Bible,  and  they  committed 
adultery,  too,  and  they  got  punished.  The  dances  of  which 
their  religion  approved  were  never  danced  by  both  sexes. 
Men  danced  with  men  and  women  with  women.  I  tell  you 
the  dance  nowadays  is  induced  by  the  passions  and  seeds  of 
passions.    That's  its  only  appeal. 

Have  you  ever  been  in  Rome?  In  the  Eternal  City? 
Over  beside  that  building  that  Gibbon  says  is  the  greatest 
pile  ever  erected  by  the  ingenuity  of  man,  St.  Peter's,  a 
man  was  standing  some  time  ago  and  the  command  was: 
*'Hats  off!    The  pope  is  coming." 

They  brought  His  Holiness  in  his  covered  chair  to  the 
crypt  and  he  dismounted  and  kissed  the  stone.  They  say 
beneath  that  stone  he  the  ashes  of  St.  Peter. 

O  Peter!  V/hen  you  left  your  boat  and  fish-nets  and 
left  home  and  wife  and  followed  Jesus  you  thought  that  you 
were  giving  up  a  great  deal,  didn't  you? 

Blessings  come  by  forsaking  the  world,  the  flesh  and 
the  devil,  and  by  following  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Christ. 


There  are  64  pages  of  illus- 
trations in  this  book,  which, 
added  to  the  451  pages  of  text, 
makes  a   total  of  515  pages. 


17916 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  UBRARY  FAOUTY 


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